Lucky 13
by bibi 13ca
Summary: AU/AH: Mistaken for a glamorous, selfish woman named Katherine Salvatore, the badly injured Elena finds that plastic surgery has given her Katherine's face, the famos Damon Salatore for a husband and a powerful dynasty for in-laws.
1. Chapter 1

**N: This story is a complete AU/AH. Many characters will be changed and adjusted to the story, keep an open mind!**

**The idea actually belongs to Sandra Brown – one of the authors I use to read when I was 14 from my mother's collection – the book's called 'mirror image' and it is one of my favorite from her. The story will follow the book with light changes.**

**As the summary says, after a plane crash, Elena Gilbert, a new and inexperienced journalist is mistaken for no other than the famous senatorial candidate Damon Salvatore's wife, Katherine Salvatore. This will be just a very short 'prologue' and if you're interested I will make this a nice, long story.**

**Don't worry, 'we pay the price' will be finished, I only have two chapters left to write and probably a short epilogue.**

**Prologue**

"Alaric!"

"Hmm?"

"A plane just went down at the airport."

Alaric Saltzman's looked over the paper. "Crashed?"

"And burning; there's a hell of a fire on the runaway."

The news director dropped the pile of papers in his hands and rose from his big leather chair.

"Taking off or landing?" he asked.

"Unconfirmed."

"How many passengers on board?"

"Unconfirmed."

"Survivors?"

"Unconfirmed."

"Hell are you sure there's even been a crash?"

As soon as it became a sure thing that indeed there has been an accident, Alaric started yelling to every person he met from his office down to the building's exit. For many people, a plane crush was a disaster, for Alaric Saltzman, it was all just information; valuable information that _he_ needed to get his hands on before others bit him to it.

"Just get me a damn reporter on the scene. Where's Hank?"

"Don't know sir, he's not answering his phone."

"What about Jeremy? I know it's his day off, but this is news."

"He's not answering either," the guy answered in a shy voice.

"Oh, Elena…Elena Gilbert's at the airport, at least she should be; I sent her to Dallas. Call her and see if you can get in contact with her. Tell me as soon as you reach someone!"

"Yes sir."

***lucky thirteen***

Damon Salvatore stopped his car in front of the house. He smiled weakly at the ranch foreman and made his way inside. He dropped his keys on the tiny table in the hall and before he got the chance to say anything, he heard his mother's voice.

"Damon…" she called, appearing from the kitchen, followed by a white Terrier. The dog run all the way and stopped between Damon's legs. He bent over and petted the dog that was now moving its little tail in sign of happiness. As soon as Damon rose back to his feet and his eyes met his mother's, he knew something was wrong.

"What's going on?" he asked puzzled.

"Weren't you listening to the radio on your way home?" Giuseppe asked following his wife from the kitchen.

"No, I needed some quiet, why?" Damon could feel his body tense as the first sign of panic.

"Damon…" Giuseppe said, taking a few steps closer. "Channel two just broke for a news bulletin. A plane crashed on takeoff a few minutes ago at the airport." Damon's gasp had been heavy and audible.

"They can't tell for sure yet which number it was, but they think it's…"

"Katherine's plane?" Damon asked and his father nodded weakly.

**N: So, are you guys interested in this? Review and let me know!**

**Oh, by the way, I am looking for a beta-reader on this. I am afraid I already gave my beta enough work with all my other stories going on, so if you're interested, please PM me!**


	2. Chapter 2

**N: Ok, so I decided to continue this as you can see. I hope more people will get interested as the story progresses. Anyway, I am still looking for a beta reader on this if you're interested; all the mistakes are mine for now, lol. Enjoy the first chapter!**

**Muffled sounds**

With increasing frequency she emerged from the blessed oblivion into a glaring awareness that was accompanied by pain, so intense she couldn't localize it. It was simply everywhere. A few minutes – or hours – later, she sank back into unconsciousness; and then, back to the surface of reality again.

Once when she was half aware she was still alive, she over-heard a whispered conversation that made absolutely no sense in her foggy mind.

"…very lucky…sure…burns, but they're superficial."

"How long…to respond?"

"No danger…infection."

"What about…baby?"

"Baby…you're wife wasn't pregnant…"

The words were strange and meaningless. She kept hearing them until the blissful forgetfulness took over.

***lucky 13***

"Mrs. Salvatore, can you hear me?" a soft, girly voice asked.

From reflex, she responded to the voice, by letting out a moan from her sore chest. She tried to say something – anything – but she couldn't.

"She's coming out of it," she heard another voice say. "Notify her husband, he asked to be informed when she wakes up!"

She understood the words the others were muttering, but to her, they made no sense. She tried to move, to find out she just couldn't. It was like she was made of stone. The only thing letting her know she still had a body was the numb pain.

"I know you're experiencing a great deal of discomfort and some pain Mrs. Salvatore. We're doing everything we can to take care of that. You're not able to speak and it will be better if you don't even try, also, most of your body is bandaged, that's why you can't move, but I assure you, nothing's permanent. Your family will be here shortly."

All she wanted to do was take a deep breath, but she couldn't, because there was a machine doing the breathing for her. She tried opening her eyes wide, but that didn't work either. Only one opened slightly, but the images were not clear. All she was able to see was 'white' a lot of it.

Yes, she was in a hospital. That much she figured. But why? She wasn't sure she wanted to know, though.

"Her heart rate's to high," another presence remarked and she wanted to say: 'I can't open my eyes, I can't breathe, I can't talk…can you at least let me panic?' but damn, she couldn't say that…she couldn't say anything.

"She's just scared, uncomfortable and disorientated. She probably has no idea what happened to her and why is she here."

"Oh, poor thing; can you imagine waking up like this…" a woman voice said pitifully.

"She survived a plane crash…" another voice affirmed.

She remembered now; the hotness, the flames and the black smoke. She performed the emergency instruction that she knew by heart from so many flights. She also remembered protecting something…something precious, but what?

"Doctor, she's doing it again, her heartbeat escalated dramatically."

"We should take it down a bit," the man answered.

"Dr. Martin, Mr. Salvatore just arrived," a voice that seemed to come from miles away announced.

"Keep him outside until I stabilise her!"

"Katherine?"

She was suddenly aware of him close to her.

"You're going to be fine…hold on to that, Katherine. You survived and Annabelle survived, you're both going to be just fine."

Even if he was almost bend over her, the florescent light was making it impossible for her to see him clearly with her half opened eye. She clung to every comforting word he was whispering and she actually believed him.

Instinctively, she reached for his hand – or at least _tried_ to. He must've read her mind, because she felt his warm hand on her shoulder a second later.

"She'll fall asleep any minute now Mr. Salvatore, you can go. She'll be well taking care of, I assure you."

"I'm staying."

She closed her eyes, feeling herself drifting off.

'_Who is Annabelle_?' she wondered.

'_Who was this man; and why was anyone calling her Mrs. Salvatore…or Katherine?'_

'_Did they think she was his wife_?

'_They were wrong…very wrong_…'

***lucky 13***

He was there the next time she woke up.

"Hi," he said softly.

It drove her mad, not being able to see him clearly.

"Can you understand me, Katherine? Do you know where you are?" he asked.

She blinked.

"Good. They say you can't be upset, but I know you…I know you'd want to know what's going on. I'm right…?"

She blinked again.

"Ok, do you remember, I dropped you and Annabelle off at the airport? Do you remember boarding on the plane?"

She wanted to tell him that she had no idea who Annabelle was and he couldn't have dropped her off at the airport, because she wasn't Katherine and she didn't know him, but she blinked, to let him know she remembered boarding on the plane.

"Only fourteen of you survived."

She didn't gather she was crying until she felt his fingers brush off a few tears.

"Somehow… thank God… you and Annabelle survived a real catastrophe. You managed to get Anna and yourself out before the flames took over the entire plane. Do you remember that?"

She didn't blink.

"Well, it doesn't matter. The doctors told me it might take some time before all the memories come back to you. No internal damaged was done, the bandages are covering your external burns. Annabelle has just a few broken bones," he said giving her a penetrating stare. "You protected her with your body."

He told her more about the investigation to determinate the cause of the accident. She didn't remember the details, just vaguely boarding the plane, the little girl struggling with the seatbelt and after that it was all blurry.

"I know you're concerned about your face," he said, she blinked.

"I won't sugar-coat it Katherine, I know you wouldn't want me to," she blinked again. "You're face contains serious damage. Your nose was broken, so was one of your cheekbones, the other one was pulverized. That's why the bandage around your eye, there's nothing to support it."

She wanted to scream and as always, he understood her silent cry. "Don't worry, your eye's still intact and the surgeon is positive he can fix everything. You'll have dental implants too and your hair will grow back."

She was teeth less and bold…my God, she must look like a real life monster under those white bandages.

"I brought him pictures of you, lots of them, from every angle. The doctor said, not only he can reconstruct your face exactly the way it was, but you'll actually look ten years younger. You like that, right?"

She didn't blink, because everything he said after she realized she had no cheek, no teeth and no hair was beyond her comprehension. She was a monster… panic washed over her again.

"Katherine, I didn't tell you all these to scare you or stress you out. I just want you to know what's ahead of you and be prepared. It won't be easy…it will actually be hell, but the whole family's behind you. I promise you, I will put you back…I owe you for saving Anna's life."

She wanted to shake her hand, to yell and cry, but she just couldn't move. Anger and frustration took over her mind and body until the nurse came in and gave her that sweet, sweet 'thing' she knew will make her pain go away and the blissful oblivion take over.

***lucky 13***

"Katherine?"

The room was semi-dark when she opened her eye, and she didn't see anyone inside. She closed her eye back, trying to find that sleep again, but the voice spoke again, this time closer to her ear.

"Katherine?"

She felt chills going down her spine.

"Can you hear me?" the voice asked. She still couldn't see the person. He was standing out of her vision. "You can hear me, I know you can. Listen…and listen carefully! I don't really care if you die at this point, but don't even think about making last minute confessions…do you hear me, Katherine?" she tried to move again, that voice was freaking her out, but the result was the same as before. Her body still felt like made of wet sand.

"We're still together on this. Damon Salvatore will still die. He will never live to take office. This plane crash can actually work in our favour if you play it carefully. Don't pretend you can't hear me, Katherine! You and I are a team, remember that!"

She closed her eye, to make the voice go away. For some reason it was scaring her…badly. When she opened it again, she could feel the presence was gone. She rotated her eye as far as she could and there was no sign that anyone had been there. Maybe it was all just a bad dream.

**N: There you go the second – actually the first – chapter already. The thing is, since this story's going to follow an actual novel, the chapters are easy(er) to write so the updates will be quiet frequent…as long as you keep reviewing to motivate me. Thank you!**


	3. Chapter 3

**N: As I promised, frequent updates…here's the next chapter. Not much to say but, enjoy!**

**Thank you Dez2sweet, for beta-ing this for me and so fast!**

**Balance**

Damon Salvatore stood by the dirty window of his hotel room. It seemed the managers of this particular hotel thought that if it's cold outside, the windows don't need cleaning anymore. He turned around as soon as he heard the door open

"I called the room half an hour ago. Where have you been?"

"Down at the bar," Damon answered. "I had a beer, the Spurs are playing."

"Oh, I forgot. Who's wining?"

Damon shrugged. "Where's Dad?"

"He's picking up a pizza. You hungry?"

"I guess…I haven't really thought about it."

"Damon, if you're not taking care of yourself, how are you going to take care of Katherine and Anna? You look like shit."

"Thanks."

"I mean it."

"I know you do," Damon said trying to put more enthusiasm than he really had in his voice. "You never had tact, that's why I'm a politician and you're not."

"Elijah doesn't want you to use the word 'politician' remember?"

"What does he know…?"

"He's your campaign manager. It's his job to know these things."

"You don't give up do you?"

"Never," the other man answered, smiling softly.

"I told Katherine about her face you know…"

"And…how did she react?"

"How the hell do I know?" Damon muttered. "I can only see her one, unwrapped eye. Tears were pouring out of the corner of her eye, so I know she was crying. Knowing Katherine, she was probably hysterical…"

"It's understandable. It's not every day someone survives a plane crash."

"Damn rain," Giuseppe cursed under his breath as he entered the tiny room. He shook his umbrella and placed it in the corner before walking towards the round table to place the square box of pizza.

"Smells great, dad," Damon murmured. He walked over and took a beer out of the small fridge. "Beer or something else?" he asked his father.

"With pizza, beer."

"Stefan?"

"Beer."

"How are things at the hospital?" Giuseppe asked.

"He told Katherine about her injuries," Stefan answered in his brother's place.

"Oh…are you sure it was the right thing to do?"

"No…but if I were her, I would've wanted to know what the hell is going on with me."

"Fair enough. How's your mother?"

"Still with Anna. I told her I'll stay the night, but she didn't let me. She said she got used to it."

"She probably just took a look at you and realized you need some sleep," Stefan commented and Giuseppe gave him a sharp stare.

"I told you, you have no tact." Damon said with a smirk.

"No, but he has a point. When is the last time you had a good sleep?"

"I'm fine, dad."

"You don't look fine."

"I'm thinking about waiting another six years to run for office…" Damon said casually.

"Don't you quit on me brother," Stefan shouted.

"You can't make decisions like that overnight, son," Giuseppe offered. "You worked hard for this."

"We all did," Stefan added.

"I know, but with everything going on with Katherine and Annabelle. I won't have the time. I can't be in two places at once dad."

"Katherine doesn't deserve this kind of consideration from you," Stefan said.

"She is my _wife_!" Damon snapped.

"Of course you must be there for your family, Damon, but I'm pretty sure Katherine herself would push you to go on and run this year. Remember, she has always supported this."

"If you think about it, this can work in our advantage, it will create free publicity," Stefan said.

"Did you talk with Elijah, because he said the same thing when we spoke over the phone a few minutes ago?"

"Elijah wants to see Damon Salvatore become the next United States senator, just like the rest of us."

"Ok then, but you have to understand my priority is my family. I will need your full support."

"You'll always have our support Damon," Giuseppe said staunchly.

"Good. I will try not to neglect the campaign, but I'm only one person."

"We'll make it up for it. What did you talk with Elijah about?"

"He wanted me to give a speech to a high school in the valley. I declined."

"Why?"

"The children don't vote."

"But the parents do."

"I know, but as I weigh my priorities, it is just not important enough. I'm sorry dad."

"You're right."

Damon knew his father was only humoring him, but as long as he won the argument, he did not care. He was too tired to bring himself to care. He saw them both out a few minutes later.

"If it's ok with you, I'll go home tomorrow, you can call if you need anything," Stefan said.

"Sure. How are things at home?" Damon asked,

"Okay."

"Really?" Giuseppe raised an eyebrow at his son. "It didn't't look like that last time I was there. Things have come to a sad pass because you don't exercise more influence on your family. Or you for that matter," he said pointing at his elder son. "You both let your wives do as they damn well please. You should see that Caroline gets the help she needs before it's too late, Stefan."

"After the elections," he mumbled. "Give Katherine my regards, Damon, Caroline's and Rebecca's as well."

"I will; thank you."

After they both left, Damon crashed on the small couch, too exhausted to walk into the bedroom. The memory of the day of the accident washed his mind.

He drove Katherine to the airport. They've been fighting. They didn't even kiss goodbye.

They had another argument at the restaurant. It was still early when they got there, so they decided to eat before boarding, since there was no meal included. Anna managed to get some ice-cream on her dress and Katherine got hysterical.

"For Crist's sake, Katherine, I can't even see the spot."

"Well, _I_ can." She shouted.

"Then don't look!"

Katherine shot her husband one of those ice cold 'drop dead' looks that no longer affected him, before taking off towards the terminal. Damon took his daughter's hand, telling her about the nice things she'll see in Dallas before kneeling for a hug.

"Would you bring me a present?" he asked.

"Can I mommy?" the little girl asked looking at her mother.

"Sure."

"Sure," the child repeated.

"Good, I can't wait," Damon said placing another kiss on her soft cheek. "See you in three days." He said looking at Katherine.

"Don't be late picking us up. You know how I hate waiting," was all she said before grabbing Anna's hand and walking away without a second glance towards Damon.

***lucky 13***

"Grayson, got a minute?" the young assistant asked.

"What is it?"

"Well, it's about victim 68. The dental record…something's not right."

Grayson took a pile of papers from his desk and looked through them before speaking.

"Elena Gilbert, she didn't have any living relatives or close friends. An old family friend came in this morning and IDed her."

"Yes, but the records…"

"Look, John," the supervisor said raising his hands. "I have damn bodies with no heads, heads with no bodies, if someone's already been IDed and autopsied, don't bother me with the damn records, ok?"

"Fine…and in the meantime, fuck you."

"Sure, as long as I get to identify the rest of these corpses."

***lucky 13***

Even the weather seemed to mourn, Elena Gilbert's death. It was dark and clouded. A dense rain was pouring. Alaric Saltzman didn't have an umbrella, but he didn't seem to care. Truth being told, he was half drunk and crying like a baby. Elena Gilbert had not only been his employee, she had also been the daughter of his best friend. She had loved her as his own daughter and took care of her after Isobel passed away, eight years ago.

"Wanna go get drunk at some random bar where no one knows us?" Jeremy asked.

Jeremy Lovejoy was his youngest photographer in his staff, at age 28. The kid was extremely talented, but a pain at socialising. He was known to smoke pot…and he always smelled like it. He was rude with just about anyone he met…except Elena. No one could actually be rude to Elena Gilbert.

"Everyone knows me, wherever I go," Alaric mumbled.

"I know a place."

"Ok, I'm in."

Half an hour later, they were both entering a dirty pub. They were checking you for guns at the entrance. If you didn't have one, they would give you one.

Jeremy ordered a bottle of cheap whiskey and two shot glasses.

"Maybe I should eat something first," Alaric murmured looking at his glass. He was already tipsy and he hadn't eaten anything but half an apple all day.

"The owner's wife cooks sometimes, I can ask her to make you an omelette."

"Do you eat here often?" Alaric asked.

"A few times a week," Jeremy answered.

"I'll miss her so damn much…" Alaric said and decided he needed a drink more than an omelette. He drank the shot in one gulp and wiped the tears off his cold face.

"Yeah, I'll miss her too. She was nice," Jeremy agreed.

"I raised her you know, ever since Isobel died," he sighed. "I loved her…her mother."

"Did you ever tell her?"

"No, but she was a smart kid, I'm sure she knew. John was never home and he asked me to look out for them. I loved my friend, but he didn't deserve her."

"Hm…" was all Jeremy found fit to say.

"Did you ever have to identify a body, Jer?" the younger man shook his head.

"It was horrible…I never thought I would say this, but I'm glad Isobel wasn't alive to see this. No mother should see their child like that. She had no hair…no face…no teeth. If she wouldn't have been holding her mother's necklace in her tangled hand, I wouldn't have recognised her." He took a deep breath. "Hell, I'm going to miss her so bad."

**N: Waiting for your amazing reviews on how you liked this chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4

**N: Thank you, all of you that reviewed this; for some reason I can't see half of your reviews, so I couldn't answer them, but I will as soon as the problem will get fixed.**

**Here's the next chapter, hope you'll enjoy.**

**Thank you so much Dez2sweet for looking over this!**

**What****'****s under **_**your**_** layers?**

Elena woke up that morning knowing exactly who she was.

She never actually forgot, but all the drugs and medication had her confused for a while. People were coming and going all the time. At ICU was always like this. Each and every one of them had addressed her as Mrs. Salvatore; they seemed all convinced they were talking to her. Even Mr. Salvatore was sure he was talking to his wife.

They were all wrong and she had to find a way to communicate the mistake to them. But how? She was unable to say a word, her body was refusing her commands to move and everything was just wrong.

What was wrong with these people? She was Elena Gilbert. It was clearly printed on her press pass, her driver's license and all her other forms that…were probably long burned in the crash.

Horrific images started to wash over her mind and she felt the fear taking over.

Where was Alaric? Why wouldn't he look for her? The answer made her shiver, even if her body did not move. They all thought she was dead. They thought Elena Gilbert was dead and Katherine Salvatore was alive.

"Good morning."

Elena recognized the voice immediately. It was the voice that kept her strong and gave her hope when she wanted to give up. He moved a little and took a sit in the chair next to her bed. Now she was able to see him as well as she could with only one eye. She guessed either it was a windy day or he didn't go to sleep, because his raven black hair was a mess.

"The doctors say you show no sign of pulmonary infection, that's great news," he said and smiled, but Elena didn't feel the smile. He noticed that before, but she thought it must've been the fact that she couldn't see him well. He always smiled politely and never with his eyes.

"Mom left Anna's room for a few minutes. You have to stay here so she can see you," he told his mother and Elena could see a beautiful woman approaching her bed. She smiled too, but just like Damon… Oh, but it was so obvious. Damon Salvatore, of course, they were quiet famous.

"Anna's doing well; she eats well and sleeps better. The doctors say she'll be running around in no time," the woman said.

Elena just now remembered the beautiful little girl she carried out of the plane. Because she had the child, people must've thought she was Katherine Salvatore. More than that, they exchanged seats. When Elena arrived, another woman had been in her seat. She didn't mind, so she took the empty one. Yes, now it was coming back to her. The other woman was wearing her hair long and slightly curled over her shoulders, just like Elena was wearing hers. The color was very similar as well. The flight attends even asked which one was the mother and which one was the aunt, guessing they were sisters. But she wasn't Katherine Salvatore and they weren't even related; she had to tell them!

"You better go back in case Anna wakes up, mom."

"Bye, Katherine. I'm sure once Dr. Sulez's done with the surgery you'll look just as pretty as before," the woman said before taking off.

"Elijah, dad, and Stefan all send their regards," he said bending closer to her. "Stefan went home, Caroline needs him, you know and God only knows what Rebecca is up to these days."

From what she gathered, Caroline was Stefan's wife and she had some sort of disease no one wanted to talk about. Rebecca was their daughter that apparently was old enough to drive, but not old enough to have her own place.

"Listen Kat, about the campaign, I'm going ahead as planned," he said.

That's why he looked slightly familiar to her. He'd been on the news quiet often lately. He was running against Klaus Dekker for the post of senator.

"Don't worry I won't neglect you or Anna. Elijah and the others support me, they understand…"

A soft knock on the door interrupted him and Elena noticed he turned his head. "Mr. Salvatore, I was just informed that Mrs. Salvatore's jewelry is still in the hospital's safety deposit box."

"I'll go pick them up later, thank you."

_No, no, you have to now!_ Elena's mind was screaming. He won't find his wife's belongings; he would find hers, Elena Gilbert's. Then they will realize they made a mistake. Damon will suffer a great loss, yes, but Alaric will be happy she's not dead. If he didn't go now, it will be too late. When the plastic surgeon will be done, everyone will see her as Katherine Salvatore. That was her last thought as the now familiar, calming sensation of the medication took over.

***lucky 13***

_Damon Salvatore will never live to take office; there will be no senator Damon Salvatore…he won__'__t live…._

Elena woke up screaming – a mute scream. It was the 3rd time she had this nightmare since the stranger came into her room and spoke those horrible words to her. Wait…did she just admit the first time hadn't been a dream? What if it was true? What if someone was indeed trying to kill Damon? She had to think, to put the puzzle together; she was good at it…when she wasn't high on medication though.

No matter how hard she tried to think and rationalize things, it only seemed to make it worse. It made no sense. Why would someone want to kill Damon? Why wouldn't they? But why come here and risk being caught? There were just too many questions and before Elena even started to think about answering them, she fell back asleep.

***lucky 13***

"I'm not surprised by her reaction, it's completely normal. Imagine if your handsome face would've been pulverized, how would _you_ feel?" the doctor asked.

"Thanks for the compliment," Damon said tightly.

Despite his impeccable record and reputation, Dr. Sulez turned out to be the coldest person Damon had got to know. It seemed that ice was running through his veins instead of blood. He was cocky and arrogant and Damon did not like him one bit, but he was the best at his job.

"I always put myself in my clients place, under the circumstances, she's doing quite well."

"You're contradicting yourself!" Damon snapped. "She did take the news of the crash and her and Anna's survival well, but when I started talking about the surgery, she started crying. God, do you have any idea how pitiful she looked crying with only one eye, it was like an image from 'The Twilight Zone.'"

"Your wife was a very beautiful woman Mr. Salvatore. It is obvious she's scared she'll end up looking like a monster. My job is to assure her I can not only reconstruct her face exactly the way it was, but actually improving it. If you doubt I can do this, Mr. Salvatore, I refuse to perform," he said firmly.

"Listen, you must be the most pompous son of a bitch I've ever met, but by all accounts, you are the best, so I will cooperate in order to help my wife."

"Good, then. Let's go see the patient," Dr. Sulez said, completely unaffected by the insult.

Elena opened her eye as soon as the door opened. She saw Damon bending over and noticed another man with him.

"Katherine, this is Dr. Sulez, he is the surgeon that will put you back together."

"Hello, Katherine. We've met before, right after you've been brought here, you just don't remember it." Elena started to panic again at the thought of someone transforming her face forever into someone she was not.

"I think she's trying to say something," Damon noticed.

"Yes; that she doesn't believe me, it's customary," he replied calmly. He bent over a little to be closer to her. "Your burns are superficial; they're treating them with antibiotics. I'll have to wait until all risk of infection has past, which means another week or so. You'll have an invisible scar, here,' he said drawing a line with the tip of his pen on her forehead, over her bandages. "Another one here," he moved lower, on her jaw. "You won't be able to eat solid food for a while since a week or two after the surgery they'll implant your new teeth and I assure you that the hair will grow normally. After I'm done, not only will you look exactly the same, but the surgery will actually make you look ten years younger. What woman wouldn't want that?" he asked smiling.

Apparently Katherine didn't. Damon noticed that the doctor's visit managed to frighten her more than calm her.

After the doctor and the nurses left, Damon took a seat in the chair beside her. He placed his big, warm hand over hers and she wanted to squeeze it, but her muscles were completely numb. He talked to her about why he chose Dr. Sulez, he told her he didn't like him and she blinked to let him know she didn't like him that much either.

When he rose to his feet, Elena whished nothing more than be able to tell him to stay a little longer; she needed someone.

"You're going to be alright Katherine, I swear!"

_I__'__m not Katherine!_

"Try to get some rest. Good night Katherine," he murmured and as always, he brushed his fingers over her forehead.

_No, I__'__m not Katherine…please, I__'__m not Katherine. I__'__m Elena…I__'__m not Katherine._

Although, when she comes back from the operating room, she will be.

**N: So, you still like? Review and let me know!**


	5. Chapter 5

**N: Ok, I just want to tell you guys that Elijah, Klaus and Rebecca are in no way related to each other; neither are Elena and Jeremy. That said, enjoy this!**

**Thank you Dez2sweet, you are sweet for doing this so fast!**

**It **_**must**_** be done**

"I don't get your anger, you knew this would happen," Elijah said taking a step closer to Damon.

"Elijah, for Christ's sake, my wife just came out of a day long surgery."

"I understand that…"

"I don't think you do. Let me spell it out for you. I. Am. Not. In. The. Mood. For. A. Press. Conference!"

"Ok, they were out of line…"

"Out of line? They were waiting in the halls. If they go near my wife or my daughter I'm suing, I swear."

Damon was definitely not in the mood to give interviews about Katherine's surgery or the recovery of his daughter. All he wanted was to have some pace to look after them.

"You got 50 seconds of airtime on three different channels. People relate to that. Your reaction was as human as it gets and that means a lot to them…to see you as one of them, unlike Klaus."

"You're just as bad as Stefan," Damon mumbled.

"Have a beer."

"No thanks."

"And, what did the doctors say about Katherine?"

"Sulez was as proud as a peacock; I really hope he was right and not just doctor talk. You can't see anything now; she's still all covered in bandages. They say it will take a few weeks before you can see the results."

"I'm sure it will go alright," Elijah commented carefully.

"One of the survivors died today. He was healing well, no internal bleeding… until he got an infection. Do you imagine surviving a terrible plane crash just to die from an _infection_! He was my age…a man with a wife and kinds…"

"How's Anna?" He asked, trying to distract his friend.

"Physically, she's fine… I gave her that poster signed by everyone at the office and the giant teddy-bear; it put a smile on her face for a few seconds. Would you thank everyone for me?"

"Sure, Anna's a sweet kid; she's the princess of this election, everyone loves her at the office."

"She'll recover completely; she'll be able to run, dance and everything else she'd want to do… I'm not sure about her emotional scars though," Damon said sadly.

"Give the kid some credit, she's been through hell, even adults have trouble after such a shock," Elijah said strategically.

"I know…I know. But mom says she's crying in her sleep and wakes up screaming almost every night. I look at my little girl and she just stares like she has the weight of the world on her shoulders. This isn't normal for a three-year-old."

"Neither is surviving such a plane crash. What does the psychologist say?"

"That we should give her time…"

"I say ditto."

"I just…I don't know if I can be there for Katherine and Anna _and_ for the public at the same time."

"Do you remember our last year in college; we played fraternity tennis and won that year?"

"Vaguely."

"The reason you barely remember the game is because the previous night you spent it drinking and banging a Delta Gamma…"

"I don't even remember her name," Damon interrupted.

"Andie; her name was Andie Star she'd won a popularity contest a week before our game. Well, the day of the game, I had to drag you out of her bed, get you into a cold shower and onto the court. You were our only chance of winning that game."

"Does this have a point?"

"The point is, you went out there and gave your best even if you were still high and puking your guts out every ten minutes."

"This is not a silly tennis tournament."

"No, but you are the same person. Even since I know you, you never gave up, you take it as it is and do your best. You never failed to be a fucking hero to anyone who needed one."

"I don't want to be a hero; I just want to be a good congressman for the people of Texas."

"And you will be, as long as you don't give up."

"Oh God!" Damon shouted at the reflection of himself in the big, square mirror on the wall. "Who would vote for that? Why didn't you tell me I look like that?"

"I didn't have the heart. All you need is a good sleep and a shave…oh and a shower wouldn't hurt either."

"I need to be at the hospital early tomorrow, they're moving Katherine to a private chamber, I want to be here."

"You better go to sleep then," Elijah said putting his jacket on.

"Stefan tells me you put Rebecca to work."

"Yes, I have her stuffing envelopes by day. By night, God only knows who's stuffing her."

***lucky 13***

Rebecca Angela Salvatore passed the Wolves bar doing seventy-five miles per hour. Since she didn't believe in seatbelts, she was pushed forward a few inches as the car's wheels touched the ground. She giggled.

Driving fast in the night was one of Rebecca's passions. Another one was Elijah Smith.

Her desire for him was recent and so far unfulfilled. She'll get him…she always gets what she wants. In the meantime, she was prepared to endure stuffing envelopes just to be around him.

A few minutes later she was in the kitchen at the Salvatore mansion, emptying a soda can.

"Who's that?"

"It's me Grandpa."

"Rebecca," he bent over to kiss her cheek. She knew it was his way to check if she'd been drinking. She was prepared for that. She chewed three packs of gum before getting inside to mask the smell of alcohol and pot.

"Where did you go tonight?"

"To see a movie. How's Aunt Katherine?"

"The doctors say the surgery went fine and she'll recover with time."

"That's good," she murmured, batting her long lashes over her big blue eyes, which made her look quiet angelic. "I hope everything turns out okay."

"I'm sure it will."

"Well, I'm going to bed. The movie was boring, I almost fell asleep right there. 'Night Grandpa." She placed a soft kiss on his cheek; he would horsewhip her if he knew what her lips had been doing just an hour ago.

"Hi daddy," she whispered seeing that her father had just got out of the room as she tried passing her parents' bedroom without getting caught.

"How was the movie?" Stefan asked.

"Sorry?"

"The movie, how was it?"

"Oh, boring… how's mom?" she asked glancing over her father's shoulder inside the room.

"She's sleeping."

Rebecca knew her mother wasn't just 'sleeping', she was sleeping it off. She could hear the soft snores coming out of the room.

"How's everything at the headquarters?"

"Fine."

"Do you like the work?"

"It's not bad, something to do…"

"You could go back to college," Stefan suggested.

"Fuck that."

"Well, good night Rebecca."

"'Night dad."

**N: So, Elena's operation went well, she now looks like Katherine Salvatore (Nina Dobrev) She will start talking soon, promise…but what will she say? Don't forget to leave me a review.**


	6. Chapter 6

**N: First I want to thank you all for your support on this story – so different from what I usually write. Now, I know the chapters are short, but I do update every day. Would you prefer longer chapters every two days or so? Let me know! Until then, enjoy!**

**Thank you Dez2sweet!**

**There's this thing I wanna do**

"I might bring Anna to see you tomorrow since the swelling's almost gone and she'll be able to recognize you."

Elena returned his gaze. He smiled, but Elena knew she looked far from 'good'. They took the bandages off several days ago; her face was red and inflated, with small bruises here and there. She hadn't been allowed to look at herself in the mirror yet. The doctor said it won't be doing her any good. She saw pictures of Katherine; she had been an incredibly beautiful woman. She had long chocolate hair, much like her own and golden-brown eyes, exactly like Elena's. Katherine's cheek bones were a little higher than her own, but since her face had been reconstructed, now she had high cheek-bones as well.

There was a young doctor coming in every day that made her squeeze a rubber ball with her hands. He promised her she'll be able to hold small objects in a few days. As soon as she could write, she had to tell Damon everything.

She was finally breathing on her own and even if it hurt at first, she was most grateful for it. As the doctors warned her, she wasn't able to speak. They told her she won't be able to make herself be understood at first, but she'll get her voice back with slight changes.

"Do you feel good enough for a visit?" Damon asked in a soft voice.

He smiled again and Elena knew his heart wasn't really in it. She pitied him. Having so much to deal with must've been exhausting. He was always so nice and polite with her, telling her she's doing a great job and she's healing so fast. All the nurses and the doctors were very proud. What did they know? She couldn't move, she couldn't speak…she could've been raging on the inside. She wasn't. What good would it do? None; the damage had been done. Elena Gilbert's face was gone and replaced by another. Tears formed in her eyes at the thought of living with another woman's face for the rest of her life. Damon misinterpreted her tears.

"I promise not to keep her long, just a short visit. I have a feeling she thinks we're lying to her when we tell her you're coming back. She's home now, everybody's spoiling her, even Rebecca, but…I don't know, Katherine, last night she had another one of those nightmares. She woke up and told me her mommy's dead. That's why I want her to see you."

Elena followed him as he took off his sunglasses and placed them in his chest pocket. She took a deep breath and took a seat by the edge of her bed. As promised, the sight in her left eye had returned, it was still a little blurry and the doctors were positive she'll be able to see just like before in a few weeks. His raven hair had grown an inch and Elena thought it looked just perfect. He was freshly shaved and she could see his mouth. His bottom lip was just a hint fuller than his upper one; he had a beautiful mouth. But that wasn't the most beautiful trait on his face…he had the most impressive eyes Elena had ever seen. They were blue, but not just blue; they held a drop of gray and a drop of green inside making them look out of this world.

She felt sorry for him; all these visits to her room were taxing. Yet, she was sure that if he stopped visiting her, she would die. Damon Salvatore had become the center of her tiny universe.

"So, what do you say? Should I bring her or not?" he asked.

How could she refuse him after everything he did for her? If that would make Damon happy, she would play the role of Anna's mother just this once. She nodded – something she'd been able to do with just a light pain since her surgery.

"Good," he said and this time his smile was honest. One thing was for sure, no matter what was wrong between him and his wife, Damon loved his daughter. "I'll check with the nurse. They said you could start wearing your own clothes. I'll bring you some robes and nightgowns from home.

Elena nodded again.

The sound of the door opening made both Damon and Elena look in that direction. Giuseppe and Antonella made their way inside.

"Would you look at that, you look great Katherine," Giuseppe said cheerfully.

"Yes, she is much better. She agreed to let Anna see her," Damon said, carefully waiting for his mother's reaction.

"Are you sure it's wise?" Antonella asked.

"No, I'm not sure, but even if it won't make any good, it can't make it worse," Damon said getting up from the bed. He walked over to his mother and Elena could hear them whispering, but she couldn't understand the words.

"Have you told her about the nightmares?" The woman asked.

"She knows she's not sleeping well. No, she doesn't know how bad it is. I don't want her to worry."

"It is your decision to make, Damon"

"I know, I think it's worth a shot."

After Antonella left for some coffee, Damon and Giuseppe started talking about the campaign. They were talking about Elijah, a name Elena came to associate with a well-dressed, always shaved and polite man. He came to see her once or twice always telling her she made great progress.

Stefan was Damon's younger brother. He was an attractive man, just not as attractive as Damon. Every time he came in her room he was apologizing because his wife and daughter didn't make it.

They were all kind with her always complimenting on her ability to heal so fast, but Elena didn't get that love that usually goes on in a family.

A few minutes later Antonella came with Damon's coffee, she handed it to him and both his parents left, not before telling her again what a beautiful job the doctors had done and she looked great.

"We'll come after Anna's nap, around…three o'clock," he said once they were gone. She nodded. "She might not react as you're expecting her too. Just remember, she's just a kid," he said.

He stood up and told her he'll be back tomorrow. As always, he brushed her fingertips with his own. He didn't kiss her; he never kissed her. Not that there was much of her that he would be able to kiss, but she was sure a husband would find a place to kiss his wife if he wanted to.

When the door closed behind him, loneliness took over and she wanted to yell after him to come back. She wondered how she would be able to tell him that his wife was dead and most of all that someone he loved was planning to kill him.

She tried many times to convince herself that her visitor that night had been just a dream, but the truth was that, the more she thought about it, the more real it was. She knew it must've been a close friend or family member. Strangers weren't allowed in her room.

Giuseppe? Nah, it wasn't possible, it was clear that both parents absolutely adored Damon. Stefan? He just didn't seem the one to hold a grudge and he was right there supporting his brother as much as he could. There was this brotherly tease between them, but it was clear they loved each other. Elijah? He and Damon had been friends since high school from what she heard and he was treated like a member of the family. The camaraderie between him and the Salvatore brothers was certainly there and he was devoted to Damon. She had yet to meet Caroline Elisabeth Salvatore and Rebecca, but she was pretty sure the voice she heard had been a man's voice.

One thing was sure; the man was not a stranger to Katherine. He spoke to her as if they've been on this for a long time.

Did Damon suspect that his wife was conspiring with someone to have him killed? Elena knew Damon had given her what everyone was expecting him to give: care, concern, and support, but not love…something was clearly missing in their marriage, but Elena doubted Damon had the slightest clue someone – let alone his wife – was trying to kill him.

God, she wished she could sit down with Alaric and analyze this complicated situation; he was so good when it came to complicated stories like this. It was like he had a sixth sense about these things.

Thinking about all of this gave Elena a light headache and she was happy when the nurse came with a dose of sedative. She imagined how good it would feel if she: Elena Gilbert, will find the killer and save Damon's life. She would be a heroine. She laughed in her mind at the thought before falling asleep.

**N: Don't forget to leave a review it means a lot.**


	7. Chapter 7

**N: Another really short chapter I'm afraid, but most of you prefer short chapter every day to long ones every now and then, so I hope you're not mad. Also, thank you all for all your nice reviews, I'm sorry I didn't have time to answer them…so busy with the holidays, but I'll get to them after. I certainly don't deserve the credit, the plot totally belongs to Sandra Brown, and I'm just adjusting it for Delena.**

**Bad news, I won't be posting for a few days since I'm spending New Year's Eve away and get back home only on Monday, but you'll get a big chapter in a day or two after I get back.**

**Thank you Dez2sweet for looking over this!**

**We survived**

Elena looked at the big, round clock on the wall. It showed 2:45 pm. Elena was so nervous that her heart rate went crazy and the nurse told her that either she calms down or she'll get another sedative. The last thing she needed was to be asleep when Damon and his daughter will come visit her. She took a few deep breaths – not without pain – to calm herself down.

The situation reminded her of her first interview. At least then she could talk…. This was after all an interview; it was possible that the little girl might detect what others couldn't. Truth was that she wasn't ready to have everyone point a finger at her and yell '_who are you_?' It wasn't like she chose to become Katherine Salvatore. Some cosmic power had made it happen.

Damon seemed so happy when she agreed to see the child and she was more than willing to go along with this and be there for his daughter for now, to repay his kindness.

A few minutes later, a nurse came to arrange the thin scarf on her head. Her hair started to grow as promised, but it wasn't more than an inch long. "There you go," the young woman said kindly. "Not bad at all; I'm sure everybody's telling you, but you are healing marvellously. In a few weeks, that gorgeous husband of yours won't be able to take his eyes of you," the nurse said and Elena smiled weakly. "All the single nurses and half of the married ones are madly in love with him; you must be used to women lusting over him all the time, right?" she asked adjusting Elena's nightgown. "How long have you been married? Four years, right? I thing that's what he told a nurse who asked him a few days ago; you'll make the prettiest couple in Washington."

"You sound very confident about that," Damon said from the doorway and Elena's heart picked up speed. She blushed when the heart monitor gave her away.

"You have my vote," the nurse said calmly making her way towards the door as Damon got in.

"Thanks, I need it," he smirked in that particular way he did every time he was slightly flirting and Elena felt jealous that he wasn't doing that only for her.

"I thought you're bringing your daughter today," the nurse said and Elena raised an eyebrow at him, letting him know she was wondering that too.

"I did; she's with the nurses downstairs. I wanted to talk to you first," he said looking at Elena and the nurse mumbled a 'good luck' and got out, leaving them alone.

"Katherine, I wanted to…" he stopped and looked at her from head to toe with wide open eyes. "My God!" he exclaimed and Elena held her breath.

That's it, he figured it out; he knew that she was not his wife. How would she explain? She still couldn't purge a word and her hands were still unable to hold and direct a pen to write.

"You lost so much weight," he said and Elena let herself breath again. She chose to ignore the relive that came with the fact that he still believed she was Katherine Salvatore. "Don't get me wrong, you look good," he continued and Elena blushed slightly. "I'll go get Anna," he said and rushed out of the room like he was running from something.

Elena closed her eyes, waiting for Damon's return.

"Kat?" she heard him murmur. He was using this penname from time to time and Elena still hadn't figured it out what it meant. She immediately opened her eyes and saw him walk in the room, holding the child against his chest. The girl was wearing a navy blue dress that made contrast with Damon's white shirt.

"You can give mommy what you brought for her," Damon whispered putting the girl down. She had an olive complexion, just like Katherine and Elena, but she had Damon's pricing blue eyes. She was a beautiful child. Her hair was dark-brown, a shade or two darker than her own and it was shorter than she remembered.

Anna walked over towards the bed with careful steps and handed Elena a small bouquet of daisies. Elena's fingers were unfortunately still too numb to hold on to it and she dropped it on the bed. Damon smiled towards his daughter and took the small bouquet from the mattress.

"I'll put these in some water," he said and walked towards the tiny bathroom, the little girl followed him immediately. He took a glass and placed the flowers inside; he let the glass on the nightstand and took a seat by the edge of Elena's bed, placing the child between him and her.

"Mommy's hurt," the girl said reaching towards Elena's face to caress her bandages that were still covering her left cheek.

"Those are the bandages I told you about that protect mommy's face until it gets better, just like they protected your hand," Damon explained. "I thought they're taking that off today," he said and Elena blinked heavily.

"Tomorrow?" he asked.

She nodded.

"That's good."

"Daddy…mommy's crying," the girl whispered.

"I think it's because she's very happy to see you," Damon said and Elena smiled and nodded. She was happy the child survived. She just realized that both of them could've been dead and the realization hit Elena at full force.

In one of those sudden, unexpected moves that only a child can execute, Anna threw herself against Elena's chest, curling her tiny hands around her neck. Elena moaned in pain and Damon reached over to take Anna away, but Elena responding to an impulsive maternal urge responded to the child's affectionate hug by closing her right hand around her tiny body and holding her close.

"Mommy, I've been good, I didn't spiel milk on my dress," the little girl said and Elena could see tears forming in her blue eyes.

She wanted to hold her tight and tell her that the milk didn't matter, that nothing mattered because they survived.

A few minutes later Damon took Anna back to the nurses.

"I think it went well," he said and Elena nodded. "I hope it's ok if I bring her again next week."

Elena nodded again.

Damon sighed and took a seat beside her. She wondered if he had any idea how good she felt when he was close to her….

"She's just…I don't know; I don't mean to complain, I know she's just a kid, but nothing seems to get through to her. She doesn't really smile, she doesn't get mad or upset. She was always a shy child, but now…she spends hours and hours in complete silence…"

The desperation in Damon's voice broke Elena's heart. From instinct, she lifted her hand to brush a strand of hair off his forehead.

He jumped at the unexpected contact, knocking her hand away. Elena pulled her hand back; the sudden movement sending an electric shock of pain through her arm, making her moan softly.

"I'm sorry…I'm so, sorry, Katherine. Do you want me to call someone?" he asked and Elena shook her head. "I'm sorry," he said again and she blinked. "I'm just so stressed."

Elena could tell that and she just wished there was something she could do. He practically owed this man her life; she would do anything if only he'd ask.

"Well, I'll be going now. I don't mean to exhaust you more then we already did. Good night Katherine," he murmured. He got out of the room, leaving her alone once again and this time, he didn't even brush his fingertips against her hand.

**N: Hope you enjoyed Anna's visit; review and let me know.**

**Happy New Year!**


	8. Chapter 8

**N: I finally ,made some time and wrote this for you guys, hope you like it.**

**Life is about the choices we make**

"You have to do this, Damon. We've already denied more than we can afford, you need to give some damn speeches or we might as well give up now!" Elijah snapped.

Elijah Smith was usually a very calm and collected man. He was so organized that he was driving everyone around him crazy with all his schedules and preparations. Damon thought about this more than once, that maybe letting your best friend handle your public campaign wasn't the best idea, but he did prefer having someone he could trust around.

"I can't leave my wife, Elijah…she's still recovering and I've been pretty clear from the start about my priorities," Damon protested.

"I know that, Damon but you've been neglecting the campaign too much and people started to wonder if you're giving up."

"I'm not giving up, I'm just looking after my family first, I'm sure they can understand that."

"They can and they did…for a while. Damon, people relate and you have their sympathy, but they also want a congressman; one they can trust to have their best interests at heart…"

"I do have their best interests at heart!" Damon interrupted.

"I know that, you know that, but do they? That's why it's called a 'public campaign' because that is your way of letting the people know your intensions."

It all made sense, Damon knew that and he also knew Elijah was right, but just thinking about going away for two weeks and leaving his daughter and his wife alone to deal with a heard recovery after a plane crush just broke his heart. He couldn't do that.

"I can't Elijah, I'm sorry. You'll just have to find another way. I can't leave Kat, not now."

"Oh for Christ's sake, Damon!" Stefan exclaimed. He was 100% supporting Elijah and Damon was perfectly aware of that. He kept saying 'he's right' from time to time just to let him know. "We all agreed it will be better to have Katherine in a private room at the recovering center instead of at home, she will be treated like royalty there and we will all be looking after Anna while you are gone," he explained.

"She's…she's still so…fragile…' Damon whispered.

"Are we sure we're still talking about Katherine?" Stefan asked sarcastically. "That woman doesn't even deserve your consideration."

"Enough!" Giuseppe shouted and everyone in the room stopped talking. He had that ability to make himself heard anywhere by anyone.

"Damon, why don't you take a walk, I'm sure some fresh air would do you a lot of good," Giuseppe suggested and Damon stormed out of the room. He took out his favorite horse and stopped only when Vervain stopped. He named the horse after a flower because it seemed to really like eating it. A few minutes later he heard another horse approach.

"Here you are; I suggested a walk not a horse ride, but…whatever works, right?" his father said calmly.

"I needed to put some distance between me and…" Damon didn't finish his sentence. He didn't need too; his father already knew the rest of it.

"Damon, you know that your mother and I don't like to interfere with you or your brother's personal life. We prefer to keep you two close to us and we respect your intimacy."

"I suppose you're getting somewhere with this?" Damon asked inpatient.

"Yes… I think Elijah might be right on this one."

"So you think I should go?"

"I think there's not much you can do for Katherine at this point. She is still recovering and it's just a matter of time," Giuseppe explained.

"I know that, but… you'll probably think I'm crazy, but I think she's changed. Yesterday when I took Anna for anther visit, she was actually waiting for us. She looked terrible in that wheelchair with all those transfusions in her veins and her hands were shaking, but there she was, in the hallway waiting for us. She looks so sad every time I tell her I have to go, like she's losing all hope…"

"Well, being face to face with death changes people. It makes them more…grateful for what they have and they appreciate life more. But…"

"But you think it's just a temporary state because she's still so vulnerable and in shock?" Damon offered.

"I'm saying, don't expect miracles. Maybe she really is changed, but maybe she's not, only time will tell. In the meantime, I think you shouldn't neglect your other responsibilities."

"A week, that's all I can give," Damon said finally and Giuseppe smiled softly at his son.

"I'll go inform Elijah, you take your time, your mother's making sandwiches," the older man said leaving Damon alone.

He got closer to his horse that nuzzled at his neck, making Damon smile.

"You understand don't you?" he asked the horse.

She actually tried to comfort him. With the little force she had, she wanted to touch him…a shy, tender touch. She was usually so cold and calculated, everything had a purpose, a meaning, she didn't even breath without a specific motive. But that gesture was pure instinct and he didn't know how to react to it. He pushed her away and probably hurt her.

Also, the way she was looking at him with those big, golden brown eyes of hers was breaking his heart, every single time. Those eyes that made him fall madly in love with her in the first place. She looked at him like he was the only thing that mattered, like was her salvation. He wasn't used to it.

Maybe his father as right and it was all just a temporary effect from the painful trauma she's been through. He got back on the horse and chose to ignore how much he wanted it to be permanent.

***lucky 13***

"We're really sorry to take him away from you, but you know it is necessary," Stefan explained and waited until Elena scribbled something with a thin pen on a piece of paper. He bent over to read it.

'_It__'__s ok__'_

"I'm glad you understand. Just so you know, he never wanted to go, he wanted to stay here and look after you and Anna, but it needs to be done. He'll be back before you know it," he finished smiling.

A few days ago Elena realized she was able to hold and handle a pen, even though it hurt her so much she was actually crying, she was happy to be able to express herself, even with a few words on a piece of paper. She was even able to moan and a weak sound was actually coming out of her mouth, but the doctors said she shouldn't push too much because her cords are very sensitive. They told her they will send someone to work with her on that in a few days.

"Goodbye Katherine, we all wish you the best and hope to have you home soon," Stefan said getting out of the room. Elena could bet her car he didn't mean a word, but she didn't care about that. Actually, all she cared about was that they were taking Damon away from her and she was terrified to do all this on her own. She understood why he had to go away and she supported him, but that didn't help her feel less lonely and scared. He wasn't doing much. He just came to visit her every day, bringing her flowers and telling her all about Anna's progress, about Ty, which Elena understood was a dog. But all that mattered to her. She got so excited every time he was bringing Anna to see her. She came to care about that sweet and shy little girl with deep and sad blue eyes, much like her father.

Even since three weeks ago, Elena never touched Damon again. His reaction surprised her and she didn't actually know how to react to that.

"Damon, didn't you noticed something strange about her?" Stefan asked his brother. Damon shrugged. "She's…well, Katherine's right handed, right?"

"Yes, so?"

"Why is she using her left one now?"

"Oh my God, you're right. I didn't even notice. I had so much on my mind."

"I'm sure it's nothing, it was just…weird."

Stefan smiled softly and disappeared behind the elevator doors and Damon returned to Elena's room. He took a seat by the edge of the bed, just because he was way too exhausted to stand.

"Why are you writing with your left hand?" Damon asked and Elena's hear rate picked up speed. She looked around, like she was trying to find an answer there. She couldn't believe she hadn't considered that. She was left handed. It wasn't like she couldn't use her right one it just felt more comfortable to her.

She picked up the pen and Damon saw her shape an 'H' on the piece of paper.

"It hurts when you're using the right one?" he asked and she nodded, letting out a soft relived breath.

"You scared Stefan," he said smiling and Elena couldn't help but think she looked absolutely stunning doing so.

"Well, I have to go, see you in a week, Kat," he said brushing his fingertips over her cheek. He enjoyed how soft they were after the operation. The doctor was right, her skin looked better than ever. She smiled at him, but as soon as he stepped out of the room, she closed her eyes to hold back the tears.

She lost it when he asked her why she was using her left hand instead of her right one. The fear of being discovered before she wold figure out who wanted to harm Damon was killing her…she wanted to tell him the truth, but really, who would believe that someone close to them, someone they love is trying to kill them. She would sound like an insane woman, and she understood that. She couldn't make an accusation like that, not without proof; proof she didn't have.

And there was also the problem of exposing herself. Once the killer would realize he or she had actually confessed murder to Elena Gilbert, young reporter and not Katherine Salvatore, she would probably be in danger as well. Whoever this person was, he was clearly working with Katherine and Elena thought it t wouldn't take long before he would contact Katherine again. As long as he still thought of her as Katherine.

Elena closed her eyes. This was insane! She couldn't believe she was actually considering this. But then again, Elena Gilbert was officially dead. She had no one waiting for her at home, not even a pet. Her mind was working fast, putting the pieces together; she was pretty sure she had enough information to actually do this. It was the only way she could save Damon and maybe her career. She had to stay Katherine Salvatore, at least for a while, to figure out who was trying to kill Damon and leave Anna without a father.

Elena Gilbert was dead and she…she was now Katherine Salvatore. she didn't choose that, but it was now her destiny, her responsibility and she will not back off until she fixes everything the real Katherine destroyed.

**N: Don't forget to leave me a review.**


	9. Chapter 9

**N: I'm sorry, but school's starting so I can't post every day anymore. Don't you guys worry, this story will be finished and updates won't take months, just a few days; in my defence, the chapter are a bit longer. Enjoy!**

**Thank you Dez2sweet for looking over this so fast!**

**Close your eyes and listen!**

"You look beautiful, Mrs. Salvatore. I'm sure everyone already told you this, but you recovered very well," the nurse said and Elena almost blushed. She was right, everyone was telling her she did well and she looks great. The doctors told her they were proud of the fast recovery she made. It had been a nightmare for Elena. She'd always been the kind of kid that never gets sick and even as a grown up, she was still hard to get by the flu or viruses. Yes, she had a tough immune system.

"Thank you," she says smiling.

Over the last few days, she got her voice back; a little weak and it still hurt her throat a little if she wanted to talk louder, but at least she could talk. The problem was, would she say something she shouldn't? It wasn't too heard being another person when you can't talk. You pretty much just agree with everything and everyone and you're good, but now…now she'll have to actually have a conversation with people that were practically strangers to her and pretend she'd known them for years.

"No, you see, that's the thing; not many women can wear short hair and look this good," the nurse said inspecting Elena's face in the mirror. Her hair was still pretty short. They made her believe she was bold under the bandages, but when they took it out she saw that she actually had hair, it was just really short compared with her long, chocolate curls. A new doctor came to see her yesterday and talked to her about the hair. He said it's growing as normal and just as strong so in a few weeks she'll be able to wear extensions if she wanted. He also explained to her how they put those in and told her it will look as natural as her own hair so she took the doctor's number and assured him she'll call before doing that.

"Thank you, you are very kind," Elena said as the nurse was applying some peach flavored gloss on her lips.

"You're ready. I'm sure your husband won't be able to take his eyes off you," the blonde woman said helping Elena back towards the bed.

"He's coming, he's coming!" another one of the nurses called from the hallway. They've all been around Elena since morning, getting her ready, like she was a bride ready to get married. They brushed her hair and helped her get dressed.

Damon's mother brought her some of Katherine's clothes from home. Luckily, the shoes fit her perfectly – they were the same number – but the clothes were at least two numbers too big. She wasn't wearing a bra, because all of Katherine's bras were too big for her.

"Hello, Damon."

His eyes were barely open when he came in and now, they were wide, staring at her. Elena couldn't help the panic that took over her. It was the first time Damon was seeing her in street clothes and Elena was afraid he might recognize her. She was also wonder if Katherine had any sweet names for her husband…'darling', 'baby'?

Damon cleared his throat, his eyes still stuck on her…he was just, unable to look away. "Hello, Katherine." He walked over to the nightstand and placed a fresh bouquet of flowers in the vase along with the other ones. "You look nice," he said and Elena smiled weakly.

"Thank you," she mumbled.

"You can talk."

"Yes, for a few days now."

"You…uh, your voice's different."

"The doctors told us this will happen."

"Yeah, I know, it's just…the hoarseness…"

"It might fade away."

"I kind of like it."

Damon was wearing his usual dark jeans that were enveloping his body like a glove. Elena was doing her best not to give in to her feminine curiosity and keep her eyes above the belt. He was also wearing one of his gray shirts and the first two buttons were undone, reviling just a hint of his chest.

Elena moved uncomfortable under his gaze and Damon shook his head. "I'm sorry, I just…it's amazing, you look exactly like before, except, you've lost a lot of weight and your hair's short.

"I talked with the doctor and he said I'll be able to have extensions in a few weeks," she said enthusiastically.

"If that's what you want," he said absent.

Elena wanted to ask him what did _he_ want, but she stopped herself before the words got out. For some reason Elena thought he might not answer that question.

"I brought you this," he said handing her a small envelope.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Your jewelry; I finally stopped by and picked them up on my way in," he explained, but Elena could barely hear him over the sound of her own heart beating like a drum in her chest.

"I'll look at them later."

"I thought you wanted your things back."

"I do, I just…my hands still hurt sometimes; I'll rather wait a few more days before I put anything on," she explained.

"Not even your wedding ring?" he asked.

Elena had noticed he wasn't wearing his since the moment he got inside the tiny room, but she didn't say anything. She didn't say anything now either. She still had no idea what was wrong in their marriage and she thought it will be best to keep things for when she'll figure things out.

"How did your trip go?" she changed the subject and Damon seemed happy about that. "I watched you on television every night."

"It went well. Even Elijah was pleased with how it all turned out."

"How's Anna?"

"Fine," Elena raised an eyebrow at him and he rolled his eyes. "Alright not that good. She's still having nightmares and wake up screaming and then she stays awake crying. Even when she's awake…she's not actually there you know? Not even the psychologist can get through to her."

"I asked you mother to bring her over, but she said you told her not to."

"Yes, I didn't think it's such a good idea if I'm not with her."

"I miss her. Did she ask for me?"

"No," Damon answered promptly ad Elena looked away. "What do you expect Katherine? You get what you deserve!" he shouted and Elena could feel the tears burning her eyes. "Shit. Look, I didn't mean to upset you. I'm just so tired. I'll better go before I do more damage…"

"No! please, don't go," Elena pleaded.

"I'm cranky and not in such a good mood as you can see. I'm really not a good company right now."

"I don't mind," she said, but Damon shook his head heading towards the door. "I'll see you out then," she said.

In her hurry to get to him before he'd be out of her room, she lost balance.

"For Christ's sake Kat!"

His arms went automatically around her. The small envelope he gave her a few minutes ago fell on the floor, but neither of them noticed. Elena could feel her body heating up from the feeling of his strong arms around her tiny waist. When his fingers slide over the outline of her breasts to help her get back to the bed, she let out a soft gasp.

Reality hit her at full force. She wanted to become Katherine Salvatore for him…to get to see him another day and listen to his velvet voice, to be able to feel his touches just one more time, because he could make things good again. Of course, she wanted to find the man that was a threat to him and his little girl, she wanted to be called a heroine and save her career, but those weren't the only reasons.

Damon placed her on the mattress and took a sit beside her. "Katherine, your legs had suffered multiple fractures, the bone is not as strong as you might think yet."

"Yeah, I figured," she said smiling. She felt silly for being so impulsive.

"You get some rest now, ok? I'll just let myself out," he said and she grabbed his hand before he got the chance to advance away from her.

"Thank you."

"What for?"

"For…for everything. For the flowers, for helping me get back in bed, for taking care of me…"

"It's nothing."

"Why is it that you always refuse my thanks?" she asked in a sad voice. Every time she was trying to thank him for being so kind and for actually making her want to fight, he was telling her that either he did what everyone was expecting, or that he did what needed to be done.

"Don't play dumb Katherine. It's not attractive on a woman like you," he said. His harsh words made Elena let go of his hand with a soft moan. "You know damn well why. Nothing you say means anything to me so don't even try." Without taking another glance at her, he left.

Elena wiped away the stubborn tears that just refused to back off and took a few deep breaths. So much for her fantasies; she thought sarcastically. While he was away, all she thought about was the day he'll come back and take her into his strong arms to hold her and touch her and kiss her, but that went to hell.

She stood up and slowly made her way towards the door. She picked up the white envelope and opened it. Her earrings were there, her tiny bracelet was broken and her turtle silver ring was missing as well as her mother's necklace. She loved that necklace; it was the only thing she had left from her mother. And then she remembered…she wasn't wearing the necklace when it all started. Katherine Salvatore had had it. She remembered that Anna seemed to be fascinated by the pendent so Elena took it off and gave it to the little girl to inspect, but Katherine yelled at the girl that it was not polite to take other people's things and ripped it from her little hand.

Letting out a deep sigh, Elena called for the nurse.

"What can I do for you Mrs. Salvatore?" the young woman asked.

"Could you please mail this for me in the morning?" she asked giving her the envelope after she wrote an address on the back.

"Sure, no problem."

"Oh and, I'd rather keep this between us. My husband already thinks I'm too sentimental. They made a mix up and I'm sure someone's missing those."

"Of course."

And the nurse disappeared with the last piece of Elena Gilbert.

**N: Hope you liked it. I know a lot of you had been wondering why was Kat in possession on Elena's necklace, now you know. Don't forget to leave me a review.**


	10. Chapter 10

**N: I know it took me a while. As I said, school's back and does not give me much free time to write. In my defence, this chapter's longer than the previous ones. Enjoy!**

**As always, thank you Dez2sweet for checking this so fast!**

**Invisible scars**

Alaric poured himself another drink and walked out of the small, white kitchen. He picked up the mail on his way towards the living room and started going through it. Some bills and two fliers from the new opened Vietnamese restaurant two streets away and the usual fast-food in the corner of Brown Street. There was another white envelope that looked kind of strange. His name and address were hand written in the left corner.

He opened the envelope, carefully, like he was afraid that something might jump out of it once opened. To his surprise, he found jewelry inside – that he soon recognized as being the ones Elena had been wearing the day of the plane crash. They were all hers…but it didn't make sense. The morgue had given him another envelope with her things. Alaric just couldn't bring himself to open it until now. The only thing he took the time to put in the safe was her mother's necklace. He knew just how much Elena loved that necklace, she never took it off. That's how he identified her body; she'd been holding the necklace tightly in her hand.

After drinking his bourbon in one gulp, he placed the empty glass in the table and walked to his desk. He unlocked the first drawer and pulled out the other envelope. He opened it and let all the objects inside fall on a white paper on his desk.

Those were definitely not Elena's. There was a pair of beautiful and expensive wedding rings, a thick necklace with two tear-drop shaped diamonds, a pair of golden earrings that had small round sapphires on them and two more rings that matched the earrings. On other words, they were worth _way_ more than Elena's.

Taking a seat in the big, leather chair behind the desk, Alaric's journalistic mind started working, but it only left him with a million and one unanswered questions. Who found Elena's jewellery and why would they send it to him? Why now? How did they know where to send them, since they weren't related? The envelope clearly didn't come from the morgue…so where did it come from?

He picked up the envelope and inspected. The Red Cross Memorial Hospital's insigne was on it. So that's where it came from. Alaric thought. But who will take the time to do this?

***lucky 13***

"Why can't I come with you?" Rebekah asked pouting. She was watching Elijah in the corner of her eyes. He looked very relaxed driving, in a way that other people didn't.

"I told you why. It's a business trip and Damon's counting on me, I won't have time to entertain spoiled brats such as yourself.

Rebekah smirked softly in the corner of her mouth and opened another three buttons of her shirt, getting her full breasts exposed. She wasn't wearing a bra and her nipples were pushing against the thin material since it was pretty cold in the car.

She was beautiful and her body's natural curves were generous making her sure that she could get any guy she wanted. But she didn't wanted just any guy…she wants Elijah. He wasn't like those stupid boys she was always toting with. He was classy and smart. He was always clean and smelled nice.

"I'm not a little girl anymore Elijah," she said looking at him.

"Then why are you acting like one?" he fired.

"Are you gay or something?" she shouted all of a sudden and Elijah let out a loud laugh.

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, you're always dressed by the book, your hair is never a mess and here I am, half naked, right beside you and you act like I'm not even here."

"Have you ever wondered if maybe I want to work for it? Guys like to chase, they might like it easy, but they get bored pretty quick. A girl that opens her thighs as soon as she sees a stiff dick coming towards her is not worth the time."

"How about a blow-job?" she asked in a whisper, ignoring his last words. She brushed her hair behind her ear and tried to open his fly. "Oh! You're hard," she said happily.

Elijah pushed her away immediately, zipping his pants back. It's not like he was blind for Christ's sake, but he could not, under any circumstances, touch Rebekah. She was just a kid, first of all and second, she was his best friend's niece. Stefan, Damon and Giuseppe would probably shot him dead if he touched her.

"You want me," she said licking her lips and letting out a purr, like a cat in heat.

"You are a beautiful child…"

"Who are you fucking then? A man can't possibly stay like this for days."

"Not your concern," he said simply.

"I bet it's that tall red-head from the research department. She's divorced, right? What's her name? Rose. Is it her? She's pretty, but I bet I can do you better than her."

"You'd better do your job better or I might have to let you go."

"You can't fire me, I don't work there, and I'm a volunteer. Plus, I would tell Uncle Damon and he'll get me back on."

"Are you sure he will? What if I tell him what you've been up to?"

"You wouldn't. Damon would kill you for not telling him sooner. You know how possessive he is since his wife screwed him over."

"Where did you hear such things?"

"I hear stuff you know, sometimes I do pay attention."

Everybody was going crazy with the elections. It was like his Uncle was running for president, not senator. They've been super stressed about the preliminary, which of course Damon won. She could've told them that long ago. Her Uncle's smile could make women wet their pants. Young, old, uptight, easy going…no woman with eyes could resist him. Of course they would vote for him. She knew he would win, but no one asked her, no one ever asked her.

"I suggest you button that shirt before you give your grandfather a heart attack," Elijah said getting out of the car.

Rebekah buttoned her shirt all the way and put on her jacket before getting out of the car and following him inside the house. She walked towards her father after giving her mother a disgusted look.

"I'm going away to Mache for three days, I need money," she said sweetly.

"You can't go," Stefan said.

"Why the hell not?"

"Because you have to be here tomorrow, your aunt Katherine's coming home."

"Fuck that! Just what I needed…"

***lucky 13***

Elena was so nervous that her hands shaking were making her whole body sway back and forward on the small chair in front of the mirror. She had her extensions put in today and the doctor told her a few days ago she could start using make-up again. She noticed from the pictures that Katherine was the one for the dramatics, but Elena liked it to keep it simple: soft smokey eyes, some blush, mascara and gloss.

When Damon walked into the room, she turned around. She was expecting him to stare and take everything in, but the way he was looking at her made Elena blush like crazy. His blue lasers were scanning every little inch of her skin and Elena bit her lip nervously. What he seeing her in street clothes will make him realize she wasn't Katherine?

"So…?" she whispered unsure. The suspense was killing her slowly.

"You look…" Damon started, but he just couldn't bring himself to tell the words. She looked fucking perfect and in a way…innocent. As it is it was taking a lot out of him to keep away from her, but now…he felt like punishing her for looking this good and making him want her again. "…there are no scars…not even one, it's amazing."

"I…uh…thank you, I guess," Elena mumbled.

"You look beautiful Katherine."

"Thank you," she murmured. "Did you get used to it?"

"It's growing on me. I like the…hair. You look younger…prettier…"

"Prettier? In what sense?"

"I don't know, maybe is the new makeup or the hair; it's straight." Damon always loved long hair for a woman and Katherine's long, chocolate curls had been driving him crazy, but now that he saw her with straight hair, she looked even more beautiful.

"I brought you the things you asked my mom to buy for you: the creams, perfumes and all those."

"Thank you, I'll look at them later," she said, but Damon ignored her and started pulling out items as he was reading them from her list.

"Nightgown with long sleeves? Since when are you wearing something so…covering?" he asked sceptical.

"Since I went through a plane crash and got burned all over my arms," she snapped. If only he would stop treating her like Katherine Salvatore for a second…but to him she was Katherine. To him, to her friends and family. Still, she couldn't help it, she had to fight back from time to time.

"Of course, sorry,' he said softly and she smiled to let him know she's sorry too for snapping like that. "Bra 34-B."

"Yeah, sorry about that."

"About what?"

"Going down a full size," she said softly.

"Why would I care about that?"

"I was just…never mind." Elena noticed that Katherine had fuller curves. Of course, she blamed it on her liquid diet, but still, she preferred pants instead of skirts just to make sure no one would see the difference between her body and Katherine's.

She was afraid the mystery man that came to visit her that day must've suspected something. Either that or he really thought she was Katherine and that everything was going according to the plan. Because since that day, he never came back.

"Damon, what about the press conference in the morning?" she asked to change the subject.

"Yes, about that. Elijah gave me this to give to you," he said handing her a piece of paper. Elena read it over, obviously getting more and more pissed as she read through.

"Are you kidding? I can't say this!" she shouted and Damon let out a deep sigh.

"I told Elijah this would happen," he said.

"People would think I just got out of a mental institution if I say this. Really, Damon?"

"Fine, do it your way, just remember that this is important any mistakes you make will affect me and the campaign."

"I know how to speak in English Damon," she said in a softer tone.

"Of course you do…remember Austin? I can't have another incident like that happening now."

"I understand, Damon, I will be on my best behavior, I promise. I'll even memorize the pathetic little speech if that's what you want."

"Don't go out of your way to please me Katherine. If it were up to me, you wouldn't even speak, but Elijah and dad think it's for the best."

"How's Anna?"

"The same."

"Oh…did you tell her I'm coming home?"

"Yes, she had no reaction."

Elena's heart ached in her chest. If she as a grownup had been thorn by the accident, she could only imagine Anna's reaction to it.

"Here, I had a new set of wedding rings made for you. They're not as fancy as the old ones, but they'll do," he said pulling a jewelry box out of his jeans pocket.

"I like them better," Elena said as Damon was pushing the ring on her finger. Her tummy was trembling with nerves from the gesture. She told Damon that the envelope was a mix and she gave it to the nurse to find the owner. He asked about hers, but she told him that they didn't know. It was pretty common for that to happen after such a big accident. He stopped asking questions shortly after.

"Where's yours?" she asked. Damon stuck his hand back in his pocket and pulled out his own ring. Elena took it from his hand before he had the chance to put it on and she took a deep breath before sliding the ring on his fingers just like he did with hers. She lowered her head and placed a soft kiss on his finger and Damon mumbled a 'don't' softly.

"Please…just let me thank you…please…" she whispered. "You don't understand, I owe you my life. When I woke up after the accident, I wanted to die so many times, but then I would hear your voice and it kept me going. You've been my whole universe…" she said softly, getting on her tiptoes.

Damon pulled her head back making her moan in protest. His eyes fell on her face, focusing on her lips and Elena's tongue slipped out of her mouth to caress her bottom lip. "Just kiss me, Damon…please," she pleaded.

He took a step closer and softly – barely – brushed his lips over the outline of her mouth. His arm curled around her waist to pull her closer and the tip of his tongue started playing over her bottom lip, where her own had been just a moment ago. When she moaned against his mouth, Damon pulled back and his pricing blue eyes locked with her golden-brown ones. The burning desire got him lost… "Fuck this…" he mumbled before crushing her lips with his.

Elena returned his kiss as willing and passionate as him. After months of starvation, she could finally taste him and it was divine. She felt every twirl of his tongue deep inside her being.

Placing his hands on her hips, he pushed his hips forward, brushing her against his erection and they both growled in approval and hunger for more. She raised her hand and wrapped them around his neck, pulling his head lower. She wanted him closer…closer, she wanted him inside of her, over her; she wanted him in ways she never thought possible.

She buried her fingers in his hair and pulled slightly. He stopped and shoved her away. The expression on his face made Elena take another step back. He looked mad, his eyes were sparkling, he was obviously angry because of what just happen, but she didn't force him into anything. He kissed her out of his own will and he clearly wanted her if the bulge in his pants was any indication.

"Whatever your plan is, it won't work, Katherine," he said tightly. "I'm unfamiliar with this…new game you're playing, but I refuse to play along. I did what I had to do because you are legally my wife and the mother of my child; don't take that as more than it is. Nothing changed," he finished and got out of the room without looking back.

**N: Please review and let me know what you think of this chapter. **


	11. Chapter 11

**N: I suck, yeah I know. I am terribly sorry for making you guys wait for so long. School is terrible and well, life's busy, you know. Anyway, here's the next chapter, hope you guys like it.**

**Thank you Dez2sweet for looking over this so fast, you're great.**

**Reporters, reporters, reporters**

Damon placed the bottle of scotch on the table just as the door flew open. Elijah made his way towards him and took a seat on the old fashion couch.

"You look like shit," he said casually and Damon rolled his eyes at him.

"Thank you."

"You went to see Katherine?"

"Yes."

"What happened? Is it about the speech I gave her to read for tomorrow?"

Damon drank the rest of his scotch in one gulp and placed the empty glass beside the bottle. "She told me people would think she's gone crazy if she says what you wrote."

"I thought she might, but it's for her own good. The press won't go gentle on her, Damon. You know how they are."

"I know how they are…tell that to her!"

"We can't afford another Austin incident."

"I know and she knows that too, she says she can handle it and she won't make the same mistakes."

"Do you think she can handle it?"

"I think it's possible," Damon took a deep breath. "She…she's changed…don't you think?"

"I don't know, Damon, I only saw her twice since the accident, you're the one that's been by her side every single day."

"It's like…even if she looks younger, she acts more mature. You think I'm crazy don't you? To think that the accident actually changed her," Damon asked. If there was one person that would give it straight to him without sugar-coating it, it would be Elijah.

"Everything's possible. Katherine had suddenly realized that she's not immortal. She almost lost Anna, of course it affected her. How are…uh…things between you two?"

"None of your business!" Damon shouted as soon as he realized what his old friend was actually asking. Private life should stay private.

"I know, but man, you're cranky and on edge. You also have that tightness in the corner of your mouth. I know you well enough to know you're not getting any. And I know about the red-head from last week."

"What? What red-head?"

"The one in the front raw that gave you her number."

"Oh," was all Damon found fit to say. "I didn't call her, if that's what you're asking," he continued.

"Maybe you should have," Elijah suggested and Damon raised an eyebrow at him.

"Excuse me?"

"You need to get it out of your system. Maybe not the red-head if you don't like her. I can find you another girl. Younger, blonde, brunette, you say it, I'll find her."

"I can't believe you're being serous about this. I can't risk my career for a few minutes of pleasure, Elijah."

"I know, but you'll be careful. Look, I love you and I respect you for wanting to be loyal, but your wife's been incapacitated for months and even before that, things were not good, everyone knows that. No one would blame you."

"I will."

"Damon, I know you want to do the right thing, but sometimes we have to listen to our bodies. I know you, you're a player, a lover and old habits don't die that easy. Your mind might know it, but little Damon doesn't and he wants to get laid."

"First of all, there's nothing 'little' about that part of my anatomy and second, I am not cheating on my wife and putting my future at risk."

"As you wish," Elijah said softly. He knew when he was time to give up. Damon was sweet, loyal, polite and kind, but if you're going into an argument with him…he becomes a real predator, ready to take you down.

"Look, I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine. If I ever find myself in need of a woman, I'll let you know."

"Fine, I'm going to my room. Be ready a few minutes early to go over your speech before going for Katherine at the hospital.

***lucky 13***

Elena let out a deep breath. She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Jeremy in the mass of cameramen and reporters. He looked bad, even worse than she remembered…he looked sick. She wondered if he missed her and about Alaric. She missed them so much. Poor Alaric, thinking she was dead. Now he had no one to take care of him, to remind him of his medicines, he always forgot to take them.

"You did good Katherine," she heard the calm, collected voice of Elijah. They were in the back of a long, black limo, on their way to the headquarters. "I liked the last part you added and you taking Damon's hand, you both had your rings, it was perfect. Wasn't she great Damon?" Elijah asked and Elena turned her head towards him. Her heart picked up pace as she was anxiously waiting for his answer.

"Yeah. Look, I didn't like the questions about Anna," he said and Elijah let out a sigh.

"They're reporters, they live to ask questions. Of course they asked about her, she is a big part of your life and they want to know everything."

"I am not telling them anything," Damon shouted.

"Maybe you should."

Elena's voice came as a shock to both Damon and Elijah. Damon's eyes looked ready to pop out of his head and Elijah raised one perfect eyebrow at her, clearly intrigued.

"They've been curious about me, now that you told them what happened and they saw me, they are trying to get to Anna. If you tell them about her too, maybe even let them shoot at the house, they'll stop asking about her and focusing on your actual career," Elena explained. After all, she was a reporter, she knew how it worked. It wasn't because reporters were bad people, most of them didn't care about a politician's private life or even his career, but they had to deliver the news. They had to have fresh information and they had to have it before anyone else. Not because they wanted the information for themselves, but because that was what the public was expecting.

"She actually makes sense, Damon," Elijah started carefully. "I can arrange something, it won't take long and it won't hurt Anna, Katherine, or you."

"I'll think about it," Damon said.

"Please do it fast," Elijah exclaimed as soon as they reached their destination and another mass of reporters were waiting for them. "Pull in the underground parking, the last level, no one will be there," he told the driver. The man nodded and did as he was told.

***lucky 13***

Once inside the large building, everyone – from employees to volunteers – were there to welcome Katherine and wish her their best. She was moved by the affection she saw on some of their faces. After all, to her, they were all strangers and she was pretty sure they were no more than strangers to Katherine as well. She didn't seem like a woman who would get involved too much with employees.

"Hello Mrs. Salvatore, you're looking extremely well," a young man said to her.

"Thank you," she answered with a polite smile.

"Mr. Salvatore, the governor called and wished Mrs. Salvatore the best, but made a public speech about how sympathy shouldn't play a part in their votes, how should I respond to it?"

"Don't. That pompous son of a bitch wants to provoke me. I will think about it later. Oh and Will, 'pompous son of a bitch' is off the record."

"Of course," the young man answered laughing softly.

"Hi Uncle Damon, hi Aunt Katherine."

"Hello Rebekah," Damon answered.

The girl's face lighted with a smile, but there was something about that smile that Elena couldn't yet put her finger on. Pretty much, the girl looked like an angel ready to turn heaven into hell. Elena remembered seeing her at the hospital a few days after her bandages came off. The girl didn't hesitate to point out every little scar that was still visible at that point. In the end Giuseppe had been so irritated by her comments that he sent her away and prohibited her to come back. She didn't seem to mind at all. Actually, she seemed to hate Katherine for some reason.

"A new wedding ring," she pointed towards Elena's left hand and she nodded.

"Yes, Damon just gave it to me," she said proudly.

"Not so many diamonds on it this time," the girl commented.

If she were about ten years younger, Elena would've suggested a good spanking was in need. Before anything else got to come out of Rebekah's mouth, Elijah joined them. "I have a job for you," he said and the girl nodded. They made their way through the mass of people, leaving Damon and Elena alone.

"Wonderful girl," Elena said sarcastically.

"If you ask me, she's in need of a good spanking."

"I agree," Elena said.

"Hello Mrs. Salvatore, how are you feeling?" a middle-aged lady asked and Elena's eyes immediately looked for her name-tag.

"I'm fine Ms. Pearl, nice to see you again," Elena answered and the lady's eyes opened wide like Elena had just informed her she might die of cancer.

"I made a mistake didn't I?" Elena asked as soon as the woman left.

"Come on, we have to go," he said taking her hand into his and dragging her towards one of the back exits. There was a simple, gray Range Rover waiting for them. Damon helped her into the passenger seat and closed the door, making his way to the driver's seat.

"No limo this time."

"Nope, we're just regular folks now."

"Damon, about the woman, what did I say wrong?"

"Pearl's new with us. She's been working as a receptionist for only three weeks, you never met her before."

"Oh…I'm sorry."

"It's ok, I'm sure she understands."

"I just…I get confused since the accident. I know the doctor said it might happen, but not remembering some things and confusing others makes me look like a crazy person. Maybe Elijah had a point with that speech."

"Do you think you'll be able to fly again?" he asked in a low voice, like he was he was asking her something indecent.

"I don't know. I guess. The first time will sure be hell."

"What about Anna…?"

"I don't know, Damon. It was a bad experience that's for sure, but sometimes it's easier for a child to get over something like this. How is she by the way?"

"Better, I think…she's growing."

"Growing?"

"Yes. I had her on my knees the other day and her head almost reached my chin."

They shared a warm mother-to-father smile before Damon had to look away and pay attention to the road.

"Katherine, I have to tell you something," Damon said in a serious tone that scared Elena for a second. "About the problems you've been having with recognizing people. I actually talked about it with the neurologist. He said it might be bad. Looks like parts of your memory had been erased."

"Forever?"

Damon shrugged, "he couldn't say."

Elena couldn't help the relief she felt. She was actually glad of the neurologist's prognosis. That meant she had a reason for doing mistakes like the one with Ms. Pearl and people wouldn't suspect she's not actually Katherine Salvatore. She had an excuse.

"We're home," Damon announced about thirty minutes later. Elena looked outside the window as the car was approaching a huge mansion. She soon remembered reading about the Salvatore Ranch. They lived there as a family, in different wings of the house. The countryside was beautiful and Elena couldn't help but smile like a child reaching Disneyland. But soon, it hit her…they were home, no more changing her mind. Her chance to back away had just reach breaking point. She would walk into the house as Katherine Salvatore and everyone will be expecting her to behave like her.

**N: Did you like? Review and let me know.**


	12. Chapter 12

**N: Would you look at that, a new chapter already. It's a bit short and not much happening, but it was needed. Enjoy! **

**Thank you Dez2sweet for looking over this so fast, as always.**

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><p><strong>Home sweet home<strong>

The house looked on the inside just as perfect as on the outside. Antonella's refined taste was easy to observe. The colors were a mixture of brown, black, white, brown-red, and beige. It was certainly an old fashioned décor, but Elena decided she adored it.

Guided by Damon's reassuring hand on the small of her back, Elena made her way into the living room. Damon's parents both gave her a shy hug, Emily – their helper – squeezed her hand and welcomed her home. A few minutes later Emily came back with Anna. Elena kneeled in front of the little girl and lightly patted her head.

"Hello, Anna. I've missed you," Elena said softly, giving the child a hug.

"Can I eat now?" Anna asked as Elena freed the kid from her embrace. "Granma and grandpa said I have to wait for you before I eat."

The little girl's lack of enthusiasm broke Elena's heart. She thought Damon was exaggerating when he told her nothing could get the child excited. Looked like not even seeing her mother after a long absence wasn't enough to get a reaction out of her tiny being.

"Sure you can eat sweetie," Elena said, passing the child to Emily.

After all the 'how are you?' and 'what can we do to make you more comfortable?' questions, they finally moved to the kitchen. Emily and Pearl served the food out on the terrace. It was a beautiful day – or what was left of it – not too cold, not too hot. Giuseppe asked Emily to bring her an ice tea with sugar. Apparently Katherine didn't drink coffee or soft drinks; she only drank that horrible sweet water that made no sense for Elena. She would have to get used to it though and she knew it. She will drink the – way too sweet – tea, she didn't have a choice. But that didn't stop her to wish the liquid in her cup were coffee, preferably dark with only two sugars.

"It's good to be home," she said and everyone smiled politely. That had been the safest choice and she went with it because she couldn't afford any mistakes.

Just when Elena thought everything was going great and she won't have any more challenges to take on, a large dog walked from the kitchen out to the pad and stopped at her feet. It immediately started growling, seeing her as a stranger. Elena had been really close to panicking. She didn't think about that. How stupid of her. Of course they had a dog, they lived in a ranch.

She licked her lips and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear – a nervous habit she turned to every time she was nervous. She wasn't doing it voluntarily and she didn't like doing it, but it came as a reflex.

Slowly, she leaned forward in her chair and placed the palm of her hand in front of the dog allowing him to sniff it so that he could understand she posed no danger to him or the people he was loyal to. She just hopped the dog didn't belong to Katherine. It would've been weird if her own dog would go all sicko on her.

The dog smelled her hand and as soon as it realized she wasn't posing a treat, it started moving its tail and lick fingers. Elena smiled, "Hey boy, it's me. You don't recognize me anymore?" she asked playfully while petting the dog's ears.

After the animal walked away, Elena turned to Damon, pretty proud of herself. However, Damon's shocked expression made her re-think her move. She couldn't imagine what she'd done wrong, but then again, there were millions of possibilities. Maybe the dog had a name Katherine used. Maybe Katherine had a routine with her dog.

"What?" she asked softly. She just wished no one else was there, staring at them.

"Since when do you want to be friends with my dog?" he asked.

Elena was surprised. The thought that Katherine might have hated the animal didn't cross her mind once. She loved animals. Her mother bought her a dog for her sweet sixteen, but she couldn't keep it after her parents died, it reminded her too much of her parents. She grew up with horses and cats as well. She was a natural with animals and now she didn't know what to say.

Damon's blue gaze was holding hers captive, demanding an explanation, but Elena couldn't find her words. That man was making her go speechless more than she liked. He just had that type of power over her.

"Since I almost died just weeks ago. I just feel tight up to every creature," she explained. It was more or less the truth. Damon decided to let go so he just nodded and picked up Anna to help her cut the chicken.

Elena decided to cut the vegetables and when everything on Anna's plate was cut in small baby bites, they allowed the child to eat and enjoyed their own food.

"Pearl made your favorite cake," Giuseppe announced as Pearl – the cook – came outside with a white cake in her hands. "Coconut-crème," he continued and Elena smiled. She didn't like coconut. God, this woman had the worst taste possible. Except in men. Elena thought. She looked over at Damon. Yes, definitely amazing taste in men.

"That's so thoughtful of you, thank you," she said to the older woman. She smiled and cut a generous piece of cake, handing it to Giuseppe.

"No, seeing that today we celebrate Katherine's homecoming, she should have the first piece," he said and that's how Elena ended up with a huge piece of cake she didn't like. But it was Katherine's favorite so she had to eat it.

She managed to swallow half of it and drink all the tea. Eating all those sweets had Elena exhausted. She wanted to retire from the polite chit-chat, but she soon realized that she had no idea where the bedroom was. There must've been sixteen bedrooms in the house and she didn't feel like entering all of them until she'd find the good one. Also, someone could see her and realize she was lost.

"Damon, did you get the bags from the car?" Elena asked praying he would say 'no'.

"Not yet. Do you need them?"

"Yes, please," she murmured.

"Ok, I'll get them now and carry them upstairs," he said and Elena excused herself to follow him.

"Emily, do you mind cleaning Anna up after she's done? I'll unpack, take a bath and come for her."

"Of course ma'am," Emily replied.

She went to the car with Damon. He took the bigger suitcase and she took some small bags and made their way upstairs.

"You sure you're ok carrying those?" he asked.

"Yes, they are not heavy," she answered. She wanted him to go first up the stairs so he could lead her, but as always, Damon had to be the perfect gentleman and step aside, allowing her to pass. Elena started to panic again. She stopped half way through and pretended she felt tired.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"Yes. It's the stairs," she said softly. Just like she predicted, Damon picked up her bags and made his way up, leading her straight to the second bedroom up the stairs to her right. He came back after leaving the baggage in the middle of the room, to help her up.

As soon as they entered the large chamber, Elena immediately noticed the big portrait of Katherine. She was wearing a gown in different shades of gold and red. Her heavy curls were cascading all around her face, making her look like an old fashioned doll. She looked like one of those duchesses, cold, empty, calculated and inhumanly beautiful. Her chocolate brown eyes – that matched Elena's to perfection – seemed to be following her around, mocking her. It was like Katherine was trying to remind her that she was an impostor, just a replica who was replacing the real thing. That's what she was…she was Katherine Salvatore's replica and nothing more…not yet.

"Do you mind if I take this off?" Elena asked pointing at the huge portrait. "It's just…it's too much. It doesn't represent me anymore," she explained.

Damon just shrugged indifferently. "You can do what you want. It's your room."

"Oh…ok," she whispered.

Your room…your room…. The words were echoing in her mind like a broken record. Not our room, her room. She should be relieved that she didn't have to share a room with him. She should feel relieved he wasn't expecting her to fulfill any matrimonial obligations. So why wasn't she? Why was she so disappointed?

After he placed the larger suitcase on her bed, Damon informed her that he had to go back to the office to finish something.

"Just ask Emily to help you unpack. You shouldn't exhaust yourself." he said and just like that, he left, leaving her alone in the middle of the ridiculously large chamber. _Her_ room.

Elena took a seat at the edge of the king size bed and let out a long, painful sigh. Her eyes flew in the direction of Katherine's painting.

"You bitch," Elena shouted at the portrait. "I'm going to undo whatever it is that you did to make him stop loving you. You'll see."

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><p><strong>N: So, here you have it. Elena didn't commit any faux-pas. Yes, she has her own room…sorry about that. Don't forget to leave me a review.<strong>


	13. Chapter 13

**N: A longer chapter, just for you. I am hoping it would make you review.**

**Thank you Dez2sweet for proofreading this.**

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><p><strong>Don't get too comfortable<strong>

"You lost a lot of weight," Giuseppe observed. "Was the hospital food that horrible? You should've said something; we would have had Emily prepare something for you."

"No. As far as hospital food goes, it was pretty good," Elena answered.

"We should get you back in shape. I don't tolerate puniness in my family," he answered and Elena smiled taking a small sip from her glass of wine. She didn't really like wine, especially the red one, but Katherine must've liked it because even before dinner was served, Emily poured her a glass. The fact that it was a very high-quality wine, helped a little. It was good and a bit sweet.

"Your boobs got smaller," Rebekah commented all of a sudden. Before Elena got the chance to say anything; Giuseppe put its fork down and shot the girl an ice-cold glance.

"No rude comments at the table. I thought we talked about this," he said and the young woman rolled her eyes.

"I'm not being rude, just honest. She's practically a walking corpse and everybody keeps telling her how great she looks!"

"Enough!" Giuseppe yelled and that was enough to get Rebekah to shut up. "I'll have some coffee, Emily," he said and Elena added a 'me too' in her head. Once the coffee was in front of Giuseppe, the smell made Elena's mouth water. Since Katherine was taking tea instead of coffee, she had to give it up.

Elena's eyes flew from Giuseppe's cup of coffee To Rebekah and then stopped on the girl's mother. Emily just filled her wine glass and she seemed very happy about that. It didn't take Elena long to realize what was Caroline's mysterious disease. She always had a drink in hand, no matter how much or how often someone from the family was trying to keep the alcohol away from her.

She was a very attractive woman: natural blonde hair, like her daughter's. Her eyes were deep blue, with a hint of green and it made her irises look like the clear water of the ocean. Her skin was so white, like the porcelain, but her cheeks were always flushed. Elena noticed that she was looking at her husband with certain desperation in her eyes.

"For God's sake, could someone just…" Rebekah started, pointing at Anna. Elena immediately turned her attention towards the child who was seated between her and Damon. Her experience with children was limited, but she remembered them being neurotic, talkative and sometimes annoyingly active. Not this child though. Anna was abnormally subdued. After Elena caught her meat into little pieces, she ate them one by one in silence.

Now, Anna's face was covered in chocolate and there were tiny pieces falling on her pale pink dress.

"This is too disgusting to watch. May I be excused?" Rebekah asked and without waiting for permission, she stood up. "I'm going to the movies, anybody want to go?" There was a short silence. "Guess not," and with that she stormed out of the house without another word.

"Your girl's out-of-control, Stefan," Giuseppe said.

"He's spoiling her. He would let her get away with murder, "Caroline mumbled after emptying her glass.

"I'm trying," Stefan protested.

"She's acting out. She should be in school at her age. Discipline and education are things the young lady learns in school."

Elena agreed that Rebekah was entirely out-of-control. Of course, it wasn't her place to say anything. She chose to ignore what was happening around her and concentrate on Anna. She took a wet napkin and tried cleaning up the little girl's face.

"The cake is so good. That's why we got it all over the place. Is that right sweetie?" The child ignored Elena completely. "Damon I think she needs a bath. Do you mind if I…"

"Sure, go ahead, I'll come later on to kiss her good night," Damon said and Elena picked up Anna from her chair.

"You need help, Katherine?" Antonella asked.

"No, it's okay."

***Lucky 13***

"I see nothing has changed," Caroline said as she took a seat by the edge of the bed.

"What are you talking about?" Stefan asked.

"You. You're still all over your brother's girl. Aren't you ashamed? She is his wife. How can you live with yourself knowing that you desire your own brother's wife?"

"Shut up, Caroline! You have no idea what you are talking about."

"Don't I? You think I'm stupid but I'm not. You think I don't see the way you look at her? You were practically drooling."

"It's the alcohol, you're imagining things," Stefan mumbled. He turned off the TV and got in bed beside her.

"Are you in love with Katherine, Stefan?" She asked in a soft, weak voice.

"I'm not in love with her," he protested and Caroline scoffed.

Caroline Angela Forbes had been a golden queen growing up. Someone who has known her back then would've never guessed she would turn out the way she did.

She graduated top of her class from Mystic Fall High. In her first year of college she met Stefan Salvatore. She fell madly in love with him from the first second she laid eyes on him. She loved him ever since. No one has ever denied her anything so it didn't take long for her to get his attention. Even if marriage and commitment were the last things on Stefan's mind, when Caroline told him she was pregnant, after only six months of dating, he chose to do the right thing. He married her in the next two weeks. Caroline gave birth to Rebekah, 10 months after the wedding. Now, either she had experienced the longest pregnancy in history or she tricked Stefan. Of course, he never accused her of anything, but the guilt, the two miscarriages and her father's death had been enough to take down the Queen of Mystic Falls. It started off with a glass of wine every evening, then it turned into two, and soon she was asking for a bottle of her own. The doctors forbid her to have any more children. Caroline has always wanted a little boy, knowing that her dream would never come true devastated her.

"Have you noticed the changes?" Caroline asked.

"What changes? She already explained why she is writing with her right hand."

"No, I'm not talking about that. The way she's sucking up to Damon and her extra care for Anna. She's actually acting like a wife and a mother. It's not just that, she is just… Different."

"Almost dying changes people Caroline," Stefan said absent.

"I don't believe that. She is up to something; don't ask me how I know, I just do. I think she wants to be a senator's wife. She realized that if she continues to act the way she used to, Damon would ask for a divorce."

"You're drunk, just go to sleep Caroline."

"I know you don't love me, you never did…" Caroline murmured. Stefan didn't say anything and a few minutes later Caroline fell asleep. Stefan let out a deep sigh; he picked up a blanket and covered Caroline with it, then he turned around and tried falling asleep himself.

***Lucky 13***

When Damon entered Anna's room, he found her and Elena still in the bathroom.

"I thought you would be in bed by now," he said and the child just shrugged.

"We got distracted by the bubble bath, didn't we Anna?" Elena explained. The little girl smiled. She seemed to be having a great time. Damon couldn't help the warm feeling he got seeing his daughter happy.

"I see," he said smiling.

"Show daddy your new trick," Elena encouraged the little girl.

The child took a hand full of suds and blew as hard as she could, sending clumps of white foam in all directions. Several have landed on Elena's nose which caused her to sneeze and Anna started giggling.

"We better take her before she manages to do some real damage," Elena said grabbing the child.

"I'll take her," Damon said preparing Anna's bath-robe.

He carried the child into the room and placed her by the edge of the bed. After drying her using a towel, Damon asked Elena for pajamas.

Elena turned around and watched the three drawers confused.

"The third," Damon said.

She handed him the pajamas and helped get Anna dressed. While Damon was cleaning up the room she took a brush and took a seat beside the child to brush her hair.

After they both kissed Anna good night, they turned off the lights and got out of the room. Elena didn't get the chance to say anything or do anything as Damon grabbed her arm and pulled her inside the room, pressing her against the wall.

"What do you think you're doing?" Damon asked in an angry voice.

"What are you talking about?"

"I don't know what game you are playing, but Anna doesn't deserve this."

"Why are you so sure it's a game? You're not giving me a chance…" She exclaimed.

"You don't deserve a chance, Katherine. You forget, I know you, I know your games. You're all nice and sweet just before you go for the kill. You can't fool me, but Anna, she's just a kid, she doesn't know it's not real. It's only natural she will respond to this act you're pulling off. If you hurt her again, I swear I'll make you pay. What I told you before the accident still stands. After the elections I wanted a divorce. I don't care what you do after that, but as long as you're still my wife I expect you to act like it."

"I changed, why won't you see it."

"Because I know you…"

"Are you sure… Are you sure you know me?" Elena asked in a whisper. Her voice was now low and seductive. She knew that she was practically prostituting herself, but she thought that her feminine weapons might help her.

Elena managed to release herself from his grasp. She took advantage of her free hand and curled her hand around his neck, burying her fingers in his hair to pull him down, into a kiss. At first she got no reaction, he stood completely still as if he was afraid of something. Ten seconds later he regained control. His right hand cupped her face as his body was pressing against hers, pushing her painfully against the cold wall. She didn't mind, he was kissing her that was all that mattered. At this point she would take anything he was giving her.

Even if Damon's words were meant for Katherine, Elena took them as if they were meant for her. She didn't mean to, she didn't want to, but every time he would look at her in that disappointed way and told her all those horrible things, he was hurting her.

A soft moan escaped her lips when Damon pushed his hips forward and she was able to feel h erection pressed against her pubic bone.

In less than ten seconds, Damon stepped away from her and a disgusted expression was painted on his face. In times like this she would feel cheap and dirty. She would remember that she desires another woman's husband, a man who doesn't belong to her.

"You almost had me."

Elena's eyes left Damon's and traveled down south on his package.

"Yes, I'm hard, but I rather die from it than ever sleep with you again," Damon said before leaving the room.

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><p><strong>N: Please don't forget to review!<strong>


	14. Chapter 14

**N: I know it has been a long time, but I'm back. This is the first update and there are more to come soon. The tons of assignments and tests took away my energy, but after two weeks of vacation I'm on the writing again. I hope you are still enjoying this story and you'll like the new chapter.**

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><p><strong>Something to do<strong>

At the Salvatore Ranch, under the protective cover of the night, there was only one completely awake person who was desperately trying to find a better explanation for Katherine's new and improved personality. Physically there weren't many changes. Yes, she lost some weight, but not too much, she kind of looked better. The scares on her face were less noticeable with every passing day. That doctor definitely did great work. She looked just like before the accident. What was suspicious was her behavior.

Maybe she changed the game. Maybe she knew something about Damon that no one else knew and the change of tactics was a necessity. There had been no contact even since she was hired, four years ago. It would've been an unnecessary risk and they've already established pretty much every move from the start. She was supposed to act as the perfect wife until the baby was born and Katherine seemed extremely happy to get on to the second part of the plan. Acting like a bitch, cheating, and doing everything in her power to make Damon's life a living hell was her job. That's what she'd been hired to do. So that when the day comes, that bullet would come as a relief for Damon.

Or was it possible that Katherine decided that she would be more comfortable as a senator's wife? Or maybe she figured out that the second bullet was destined for her. Whatever it was something had to be done. Katherine Pierce would not be the one ruining this!

***Lucky 13***

"Is Damon in?" Elena asked the chatty secretary. To visit Damon at his lawyer office had been a drastic measure, but she had done everything else. After two weeks of living at the Ranch, Elena had discovered where everything was, she had trained herself in private to write and eat with her right hand. She was still a little bit clumsy, but she was sure it would come easy and natural in less than a week for her to use her right hand.

She discovered that Katherine had no friends or family which came both as a shock and as a relief. Being honest, Elena had been afraid that some overwhelmed best friend of Katherine would be expecting her to pick it up where they left off, but no such thing happened.

Katherine was not working; she had no interests, no activities, and no hobbies. The only thing she knew Katherine liked to do was ride. Elena noticed the many costumes that had to do with that particular sport. Elena enjoyed riding herself, but she had no idea how good or bad Katherine was at it, so she decided it was too soon for her to do that. She should be happy that Katherine didn't seem interested by anything. What would she have done if Katherine was some kind of sculptor or painter? What if she would usually play piano or violin every Friday night? So, yes, Elena was grateful no such things would be expected from her, but she had _nothing_ to do. Maybe Katherine was ok with the lack of activities, but Elena Gilbert was not. She was bored and restless.

Marry Beeline, Elena read the tag name on the secretary's desk, but she didn't want to make the same mistake twice, so she didn't make any friendly references towards the polite young woman.

"He's with a client," she answered.

"A client?"

"Well, it's Mr. Roily Ramton. He came in with a big donation for Mr. Salvatore's campaign, so he made time to see him."

"You think they'll be there in long. I came all this way…"

"If you wish to wait; they've been there for twenty minutes already, I don't think they'll take long." Elena nodded and took a seat in a chair nearby. "Can I get you anything? A coffee?" Marry asked politely.

"No thank you," Elena answered. She picked up one of the many magazines and started reading. The secretary resumed her typing and a comfortable silence took over the room.

Less than ten minutes later the door to Damon's office opened and the two men came out laughing. They seemed to be having a great time. Elena stood still for the time being, enjoying the view. Seeing Damon smile was a rare occasion, so she took the time and appreciated it. As soon as the secretary announced her presence, Elena had no choice but to stand up and make her way towards Damon and his client.

"Katherine my dear, you look astonishing," Roily said with a huge smile on his face. He bent over and kissed Elena on both cheeks, so she deduced that they've met before and they had some sort of friendship going on.

"Thank you, you too," she said. Safe enough, she thought.

"Oh, Damon, my boy, you and Katherine must come to dinner soon; my mother really wants to meet you."

"We will, I'd like to meet her as well," Damon said and Elena just nodded softly.

"He told me you are even prettier than before, but I mean, you know, he is a lawyer. Of course now that I take a good look at you, I say he was right," The man told Elena. She blushed slightly and looked in Damon's direction, but he avoided her gaze. She couldn't believe that Damon had actually told someone she was pretty. The thought made her feel hot inside, it gave her hope.

After they said their goodbyes, Damon told Marry to hold his call and literally dragged Elena in his office, closing the door behind them.

"What the hell are you doing here? This is where I work."

"I know that. I came here to help. You know I can do more than sit, eat, and watch TV."

"Can you?" Damon asked in a sarcastic tone. He clearly didn't have a very good impression of his wife and Elena didn't really blame him. Apparently Katherine didn't even do her own bed.

"I thought you can use me here. I can be a volunteer. I could answer the phones, return mail, sharpen pencils or something…anything! Please, Damon, I'm going crazy at home all day," she complained.

"It didn't seem to bother you before," Damon replied. "What is it that you really want Kat?" he asked. Elena hated it even more that he was using that nickname. He was always using it to mock her, or so it seemed.

"I need something to do, Damon. My brain's turning to mush…"

"Ha, that's new. Since when are you concerned about your brain activity?" he didn't wait for Elena to answer as he went on. "Take an aerobics class or something," he suggested.

"I did, but it doesn't take much of my free time. The class is just one hour three times a week. I want to do something productive."

"Since when? For Christ's sake, Kat what's this all about? You want more money?"

"No, Damon, this is not about money. I went to the bank and got my new card. I explained the slight change in my handwriting, they were okay with it. I can sign checks and everything, I have money."

"Then what is it? Why?"

'Because Elena Gilbert cannot stay in one place for more than five seconds; because she performs better under pressure and because she's actually one of those people that enjoys doing something.'

"Let me work at the headquarters."

"No way."

"Then take me with you in the next campaign trip."

"No," he said with taut finality.

Elena was admiring the many pictures on the wall. There was one of Damon and Elijah when they were young. Then there was one with both Salvatore brothers and Caroline in the middle. They were from Stefan and Caroline's wedding from what Elena could tell. She moved a few steps to her right and found a war picture of a younger Giuseppe Salvatore and under the picture it was written 'South Korea 1951 – Majors Giuseppe Salvatore and Damon Fell. Elena thought the guy must've been a really good friend to Giuseppe if he named his son after him.

"I'm I'll behave," she murmured. Her attention still concentrated on the pictures.

"I said no Kat. Been there, done that, remember?"

"it will be different this time."

"You're not a team player Katherine and you know it. You will get bored after a day or two and just like last time you'll start complaining. I won't have time to entertain you. I'll be writing speeches, giving speeches and shaking hands all day and at night all I'll want to do is sleep. No one will have time for your whims Kat," Damon shouted as he got up from the chair behind the desk. He went around the other two chairs and stopped a few steps away from her.

"I want to help you, Damon."

"Why?"

"Because you're running for the Senator and it's my job as your wife to be there with you, helping with everything I can."

"That's bullshit Katherine and you know it."

"Hey. I thought you two might be in need of an arbitrator by now," Elijah said as he entered the room. "What are you doing here?" he asked looking at Elena.

"I'm here to see my husband if that's alright with you Elijah," Elena answered in a fake sweet voice.

"Wha, easy, I was just asking. So, what are you two so feistily fighting about?"

"She wants to come with us on the campaign trip," Damon answered.

"Oh, not again!"

"I'll be good this time, I promise. Now that I know what to expect and what's expected of me, it will go better," Elena explained and Elijah raised an eyebrow at Damon who just shrugged casually. A part of her still waited for that time when Damon will stand up and take her side, but that would be too much to expect seeing that he hated her. Ok, maybe not her personally, he didn't even know her, but he definitely hated his wife.

"What do you think, Elijah?" Damon asked.

"Well, don't take this the wrong way man, but a handsome couple is way easier to sell than a handsome man all by himself."

"Are you saying she should go?"

"Look, there's this welcome party Katherine's been invited to. I declined in her behalf, saying that she's not feeling up to a black-tie event yet, but I can call and accept. It's not really campaigning; it's going to be more like heavy socializing."

"So, it will be like a test for me?"

"Take it as you wish," Elijah answered casually.

"Thank you for your advice Elijah, now I would like to be alone with my wife if you don't mind," Damon said and Elijah nodded.

"Should I make the call?"

"Yes, tell them we'll be there."

"I'll do it right away."

"Thank you."

As soon as the door closed after Elijah, Damon turned to face Elena for the first time since they stepped into his office.

"We leave at seven, be ready or I go without you," he said and Elena smiled. She wouldn't let his lack of enthusiasm bring her down. Finally after all this time she had something to look forward to and be damned if she would allow anything or anyone to stop her from enjoying that.

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><p><strong>N: Please don't forget to drop in a review and let me know you're still with me. <strong>**J**


	15. Chapter 15

**N: You guys got me all excited about this story with all your positive reviews so I decided to give you this little chapter before the weekend comes and I'll have time to write a bigger one. Thank you so much for all your kind words, they mean a lot to me.**

**Also, thank you Dez2sweet for going out of your way to look over this for me.**

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><p><strong>Open the door of the past!<strong>

After the second knock on the door, Elena left the kitchen. "It's ok, I'll get it," she yelled as she made her way towards the door. Elena froze. No one other than Jeremy Lovejoy was standing in the doorway. Her breath got caught up in her throat, she couldn't move or say anything, it was like she was back on the hospital bed, incapacitated and scared. She was waiting for the moment that Jeremy would point his finger at her as he recognized that the woman standing before him is not Katherine Salvatore, but Elena Gilbert.

The thing was that Jeremy seemed just as shocked as her. There was almost no doubt in Elena's mind that he recognized her. But soon, Jeremy's usual nonchalant smile painted his face and he offered her his hand.

"Hello, I'm Jeremy Lovejoy," he said, tearing Elena away from her trance. She accepted his hand, giving it a good shake.

"Katherine Salvatore, please to meet you Mr. Lovejoy," she mumbled.

"Jeremy, just Jeremy. I know who you are. I work for KTEX, I have filmed you before."

Elena wasn't aware of half the words that were coming out of Jeremy's mouth. All that mattered was that she could hear him talk. His voice, the voice of someone familiar was everything to her. She just wanted to throw her arms around him and hug him tight until he would yell at her that she should let go before he fills in a restraining order. She had missed him so much. Maybe she could tell him, he could certainly be of help to her. He was a very intuitive and intelligent man after all. But would he understand? Most likely not. 'What the hell Elena?' she could already picture him yelling at her and schooling her.

Before Elena got the chance to think more about the subject or enjoy Jeremy's company, Giuseppe made his way from the living room. Jeremy stepped inside and Elena closed the door behind him.

"This is Jeremy Lovejoy, he works for the KTEX," she said looking directly at Damon's father. The old man just nodded like he already knew that.

"We were told you were coming. Would you like to see the inside or the outside?" Giuseppe asked.

"Both actually. I'm planning for Friday, a short commercial on Mr. and Mrs. Salvatore in their everyday lives. That's what they go for these days y'know. The sentimental crap."

"Excuse the language Katherine. We will take this outside," Giuseppe said apologetically as he pointed the way for Jeremy.

Elena made sure that she would not be there when Jeremy left. She decided that telling Jeremy was not an option. Not to mention that knowing that information might put him in danger as well. Lately Elena started questioning her own moves. Maybe she should just tell Damon what she knows, explain the truth and get out while she still could. But that wouldn't reveal the killer and that would most certainly not guarantee that he or she would stop trying to kill Damon. The thought of something happening to Damon or to Anna was making her nauseous. She couldn't bear the thought that she could've done something about it and she didn't. No, she had to stay, she had to protect them. She had to find this person in Damon's life that would be capable of killing. There was a lot of tension between Damon and his brother, that's for sure, but she doubted Stefan would murder his own flesh and blood just like that. Caroline seemed mad at everyone, but she was pretty sure that if she would kill someone that would be Katherine and not Damon. Giuseppe was hard on Damon, but he was just being an autocrat, wanting the best from his children and his wife was ready to defend her two boys with every chance she got. Elijah was the only one who was not family, but he was treated like a member nonetheless. He was given the guest house that was only a few minutes away from the big villa. He and Damon were always pushing each other's buttons, but it was obvious that they cared a great deal about one another. And finally, Rebekah, who in Elena's opinion was just a teenage girl in need of a firmer hand. She was just looking for attention by acting reckless and pretending not to care.

Elena took another sip of her tea and let out a frustrated breath. This was going nowhere fast. Anyone trying to convince Damon Salvatore that someone in his family was trying to kill him would look really insane. She took her journalistic instincts from both her parents, she was a very intuitive person and 99% of the cases she was right. Maybe she was just too close to see it.

***Lucky 13***

Even before five o'clock, Elena started getting ready. The last thing she wanted was to be late and give Damon yet another reason to push her away and not take her with him in his campaign trip. She had to stay close to Damon, she had to protect him.

After she was done applying her makeup, she started strengthening her hair. She tried to convince herself that the action had nothing to do with the fact that Damon had seemed to prefer her with her hair straight, but who was she kidding. She even bought a new dress for the occasion. Nothing in Katherine's closet seemed decent enough or classy enough. They were beautiful dresses, but too revealing for Elena's taste. Also, she wanted to look different from Katherine to avoid reminding Damon of his wife.

Fifteen minutes ahead of schedule, she was ready. She was just about to spray some perfume on when the door flew open and Damon stormed inside. For a minute Elena thought he changed his mind and he wouldn't want her to go anymore, but he didn't seem mad only harassed. As soon as he advanced close enough, she noticed that his shirt was unbuttoned and his hair was a mess, clearly towel-dried.

He stopped a few steps in front of her and looked at her from head to toe, making her blush lightly. Maybe Katherine Salvatore was used to being checked out by men, but Elena Gilbert certainly wasn't and the way Damon was looking at her now made her head spin.

"You…uh, like it?" she asked shyly.

"The dress?" he asked.

"Yes, it's new."

"I like it," he said without taking his eyes off her. "Money well spent," he went on and Elena wanted to roll her eyes, but she kept the gesture to herself. It was typical of Damon to react this way. His defence mechanism against Katherine was a very powerful one, and being honest, Elena didn't blame him. That woman had been the devil.

"Did you want something? Or did you just march in here to see if I'm ready?" Elena asked and she could swear she noticed a smirk on Damon's face.

"I'm the one who's not ready," he said. He seemed ashamed and Elena's tongue was literally hurting from trying to keep in a remark. "I can't find my gray tie."

Elena remembered she had found a few of them in one of her drawers; she just placed them in a box and put the pox in the closet. "I'll get it," she said. She turned around a minute later with a tie in her hand. "This one?" she asked and Damon nodded, letting out a sigh of relief.

Turned out that Damon was so nervous that he seemed incapable of making a knot to the tie. "Here, let me," Elena said softly, pushing his hands away.

"Since when do you know how to do that?" Damon asked watching her tiny fingers work that tie like she had done it a million times. Elena didn't even think of the fact that he might ask. She used to tie her father's ties all the time, then she would do it for Alaric – his trembling hands were making it hard for him to do it himself.

They were so close, Elena could smell his aftershave and it smelled incredible. Her hands were touching his skin from time to time and a slight shiver would go through her entire body.

"There you go," she said taking a step back to admire her own work.

"Thanks," he mumbled.

"Any time."

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><p><strong>N: I know you guys were expecting a party, but I was going to make a long chapter and take another week, but I decided to cut it, give you this and the next part – the one with the party – after the weekend. After all, the next chapter deserves a lot of attention. I hope you'll find it in your hearts to forgive me and still review.<strong>


	16. Chapter 16

**N: Finally the chapter you've all been waiting for is here. I hope it surprises you; enjoy!**

**Thank you Dez2sweet for looking over this so fast.**

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><p><strong>Party crasher<strong>

When he got back to his room, Damon felt like could barely breath. He had been this close to kissing her again. She just looked so adorable helping him and she had some sort of…grace, that was missing before. He looked at the clock and immediately decided that there was no way he had time for another cold shower. As he opened the sock drawer he picked up two different kinds, put them on and just then realized one was black and the other one was gray. And that wouldn't have been a problem, but they had different shapes as well. One was simple and the other one had two thick straps on each side. Cursing under his breath, he went looking for matching socks. It took him another ten minutes to finish getting dressed and he thanked heavens his wife didn't comment on it. It looked like she had developed some sort of diplomacy after the accident. He decided to just be grateful for it and not question it.

"You two look like a bride and a groom on top of the wedding cake," Giuseppe said cheerfully when Damon and Elena arrived in the living room.

"Thanks, Dad," Damon answered.

"She doesn't exactly look like a bride in that black dress, dear," his mother commented and for the first time in a while Damon did not appreciate his mother's opened critics regarding his wife. Damon knew his parents were not blind. They could see how much pain Katherine had caused Damon over the years and both his parents were trying to be protective over both their children while giving them space to make their own decisions. Of course sometimes his mother's Italian blood would make her push it a notch.

A few seconds later Anna came running down the stairs. She stopped in front of Damon and he bent over to pick up his daughter. She wrapped her little arms around his neck and buried her face in his hair. He kissed her on both her cheeks as he put her down and told her they'll be back before she'd wake up.

To Damon's surprise, Katherine immediately crouched down beside him. "Give mommy a big hug," she murmured and without any hesitation, the child hugged her mother tight. "We'll come kiss you when we get home. You be a good girl for Grandma and Grandpa, okay?"

The little girl nodded before kissing Katherine. Damon expected her to pull away; instead she hugged the child even closer, kissing her nose and cheeks.

Damon was puzzled. He didn't know where it all came from, but it scared him. When she would finally decide she had enough of this game, she would stop and she would hurt Anna all over again. He won't let that happen, he won't let her do it all over again. He had been fooled way too many times for him to fall for it again. He had to be careful.

"You look good Katherine," Antonella said softly and Damon smiled at his mother. "You two be careful and drive safe," she added right before they got out of the house.

Once in the car, Elena turned towards Damon, "your father was right, you look great," she said smiling.

"Thanks, you too," he answered. And he meant it. God how he meant it. She looked beautiful. It might have been the dress or the new attitude. She was more…calm and collected, but she still had that fire that would spark in bright red and orange every time they would have an argument. He liked that about her, the way she would challenge him and take him by surprise. He loved the passion that was reading in her brown eyes. But right now, right now he just lusted for her. He turned to look at her and she flashed him one of those rare, bright, honest smiles. She seemed to be more beautiful with every passing day. It was like; even since she recovered from that accident she got a certain glow, something unique and mesmerizing that hadn't been there before. Damon didn't have a name for it yet, but it was driving him crazy. A few years ago, he would've said 'the hell with this party' and made love to her right there and then, but now he knew her. He knew Katherine way to well to fall for it again. 'Full me once, shame on you, full me twice…' Damon thought.

***Lucky 13***

Elena didn't even notice the man at the pay-phone as she came out of the lady's room. She was ready to get back to the party, back by Damon's side. The party started off pretty formal and quite boring, but as soon as the band started playing and people started to mingle, it turned around. Everybody seemed to be eager to meet Damon and support him. Elena loved the way he would make time for everyone. He was kind, warm and polite to everyone no matter rich or poor, black or white. He made no difference between people and she admired that about him.

People had been kind to her too, complimenting her on her dress and earrings. Telling her how they admired her courage and determination. They sympathized with her and what she went through after the accident, telling Damon he was lucky to have found such a strong woman to have by his side.

"You bitch," she heard a man behind her. "You think you can just ignore me all night and get away with it? Do you have any idea how much trouble it was to get my hands on a ticket?" he talked slow and firm in her ear. Elena got chills running down her spine. She had no idea who the man was or what she wanted, but she felt the need to run away from him. Except, she couldn't, because he was holding her.

"Let me go!" she yelled, but soon his hand was covering her mouth and she couldn't get the sounds out. He was strong, she tried to fight, to push him away, but he was a lot stronger than she was.

"I can believe you. You looked right through me, like you didn't know me. How dare you?"

"Please, I have to get back –"

"Hold still, I just want to take a good look at your knew face," he said as he placed his hand under her chin, forcing her head up. "I like the hair, but I still think curly is more your style," he stroked her hair, tucking it behind her ears. By now Elena realized that the man not only had known Katherine, but he might've known her intimately as well, judging by the boldness of his moves, words and touches. She only prayed this guy wouldn't notice something anybody else missed. "You actually look better. Younger. I'm curious if you feel any different, if you know what I mean?" he asked and that was the last drop for Elena. She somehow found the strength to push him away against the wall. She slapped him as hard as she could.

"You stay away from me!" she shouted. She wanted to go on and tell him she had changed and she doesn't want to see his face as long as she lives, but two women that Elena recognized from the party were walking towards them

"Don't you think you're get away with this," he whispered and in a second he was gone.

"Are you ok?" one of the women asked. She didn't realize she was shaking until she looked down at her hand. She was cold and her head was pounding; she felt like she might faint any moment. She returned to the bathroom and splashed some cold water on her face. It helped, just not enough.

When she got back, she immediately spotted Damon aside the room. She thanked God for the miracle that he was alone and walked over. She grabbed Damon's hand and squeezed it hard. From reflex, Damon turned around and wrapped his arms around her. No words were necessary for the time being, he just held her. The sound of her fanatic heart beat was so hard, Damon could feel it against his chest and it alarmed him. His wife seemed scared and his wife was never scared.

"Katherine, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

"God, Damon, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she murmured as they slowly broke apart. Elena didn't find the courage to look him in the eyes. Not yet. Knowing what his wife had done to him made her scared, mad and overwhelmed her.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" he asked.

She couldn't, so she lied. She seemed to do that a lot lately and the fact that now it would come kind of naturally to her scared her. "I guess I was not ready to face the crowd. There are so many people, I just –"

"You seemed fine a few minutes ago."

"I was, I guess I over did it. I started to feel trapped and I couldn't breathe…"

"Shhh, it's ok," he said grabbing her hand. "We'll go, the party's ending anyway."

"Are you sure? I don't want to ruin your night."

"I'm sure."

The car ride home was silent. Elena would just glance at Damon from time to time from pure need of comfort. She wished she could comfort him, she wished they could comfort each other, but for now, she was glad he was there, close to her. She felt safe. When they got home, they walked directly into Anna's room to kiss her good-night as promised. She mumbled something, but didn't wake up. They cover the girl's tiny body with the blacked and got out.

As soon as the Elena closed the door, Damon turned towards her. "We'll be attending a few formal functions on the trip, you better pack this dress," he said and Elena's eyes lit up.

"You mean, you're taking me with you?"

"Only if you're up to it," he said and Elena answered that she was ready. "Elijah thinks it's a great idea. You were lovely tonight, everybody was charmed," he went on.

"What do you think, Damon?"

"I want you to come."

"Then I will."

"Good, Elijah will give you the itinerary so you'll know what else to pack. He will probably be here tomorrow morning. Good night Kat."

"Good night," she answered softly. She went back to her room, took a quick shower and slipped into bed, but even though she was exhausted, the sleep couldn't seem to come, so she got out of bed and made her way towards the kitchen.

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><p><strong>N: Don't forget to leave me a review.<strong>


	17. Chapter 17

**N: Well, I know I am _the worst_ and it's been _forever_ since I updated, but instead of going on and on about why I didn't update, I'll let you read the new chapter. I hope you'll enjoy and still think I deserve a review.**

**Thank you Dez2sweet for looking over this one.**

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><p><strong>Is there something in the fridge?<strong>

Elena tried to be as quiet as she possibly could. Not only she did not want to wake anyone up, but she was honestly afraid that the person planning to kill Damon might think it was a perfect opportunity for him and her to have a chat. She descended the stairs without incident and made the U-turn to enter the kitchen.

"Who's there?" she heard someone in a muffled voice; which made her jump backwards. "My God, Aunt Katherine, you scared the crap out of me." Elena heard Rebekah's voice and let out a deep breath she didn't know she was holding. She reached for the light switch, but Rebekah begged her not to turn on the light.

"Alright, I'll just get the lamp," Elena answered and before the girl had time to say anything, the pale light from the lamp was all over them. "Oh…Rebekah, what happened?" Elena exclaimed when she saw her face in the light. She had a bruised eye and her lip was cut in two places. She had blood on her lips, in the corner of her mouth, and on her chin.

"It's nothing, I'll be alright," Rebekah shrugged. She walked over to the refrigerator and got out a small carton of milk; she poured herself a tall glass and placed the almost empty box back in the fridge.

"It looks pretty bad; shouldn't you be seeing a doctor?" Elena asked as she was trying to take a better look at Rebekah's wounds. "Do you want me to drive you to the emergency room?"

"Hell, no! Don't you even try, and keep your voice down, I don't want Grandpa or Grandma to hear you and see this. They'll be schooling me for weeks no matter what reason I give them to explain."

"What really happened?"

"Well, I was bored, so I decided to go to this party place. They go really crazy there and it's Friday, pay-day and everyone was in a very good mood. There was this guy; I think he was thirty-something. He had a nice ass and we went to a hotel together. We had some beer, some wine and smocked some grass. When it came down to it, he couldn't perform. I think it was the grass or the mixed drinks, but naturally, he took it out on me."

"And he hit you?" Elena asked shocked.

"No shit, what do you think? Of course he hit me."

"This is no joke, Rebekah, you could've been seriously hurt," Elena said firmly.

"I cannot believe this," she said rolling her blue eyes. "You always said hearing my romantic escapades give you a vicarious thrill, whatever the hell that means."

"I hardly classify getting hit in the face as something romantic and you should most definitely not consider any act of violence romantic Rebekah. It is inhuman and not to mention illegal. Did he tie you up too?" Elena asked as she noticed the bruises around her hands.

"Yeah, but it was cool."

"For Christ's sake Rebekah, you shouldn't go in motel rooms with strangers, you should never let a man hit you and most definitely don't let him tie you up like that."

"Are you hearing yourself right now? You know you've done worse," Rebekah said quickly. Elena felt as if she cornered her. There was no way to get out of this one with a clean sleeve.

"Yes and I came to the conclusion that it was wrong."

"What are you doing with that?" Rebekah asked watching Elena stuff some ice-cubes in a Baggie.

"It's for your eye. It's turning colors and I'm pretty sure you don't want to not be able to open it in the morning and have to explain it to your parents." Elena said and the blonde snatched the ice-pack her Aunt made to place on her eye. She knew she was right and there was no way she could tell her parents it was a minor accident of it looked like that. "Do you want some aspirin or Tylenol for the pain?"

"No I'm good. I think I drank and smoked enough to keep me sleeping the whole night. Maybe I'll have some in the morning." At this point, Rebekah was more than anything, confused. She couldn't understand why all of a sudden Katherine cared what happened to her? Why was she nice and helpful? Katherine was never nice to anyone, most of all to someone that didn't matter. Of course, Rebekah always thought her Aunt was stupid for taking Uncle Damon for granted and for being such a bitch to him. She knew that he was a catch. He was smart and good looking, all the girls she hung out with at clubs or at school had been drooling all over him. He had money too and she could've bet her allowance for a month he was good in bed too. No woman in her right mind would ever give that up. Maybe Katherine had figured that out too. She seemed totally different since the accident, like she loved Uncle Damon again. Oh, how she wished someone would love her one day like her uncle had loved Katherine at the beginning. He was treating her like a queen and he was always there for her, trying to give her anything she wanted. Of course, her attempt to get him back now would not work. If Rebekah was sure of something she was sure that once you got on her uncle's black list, you would stay there forever.

"Why are you up at this hour?" Rebekah asked.

"I couldn't sleep so I came for a glass of milk."

"You're mending your ways, aren't you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, you know what I mean. You're trying to charm your way back into Uncle Damon's bed so maybe he would take you with him to Washington if he wins the elections." She pushed her chin up proudly before continuing in an even softer voice. "Tell me, did you give up all your lovers or just Elijah?"

"What did you just say?" Elena asked intrigued. She could feel her cheeks getting all hot and they probably looked red by now.

"Don't try to deny it. I'm not blind you know, I see the way he looks at you. Yesterday, I confronted him about it."

"And what did he say?"

"He didn't admit, but he didn't deny it either. He was a perfect gentleman, giving me all that 'she's my best friend's wife' crap. Anyway, I don't care who you sleep with and I'm not going to tell Uncle Damon as long as you stay away from Elijah. From now on he'll be sleeping with me. Good night Aunt Katherine."

Before Elena got the chance to say anything else, Rebekah stormed out of the kitchen. She only later realized that her Aunt had been the only one concerned over her sore lip and black eye and also, that she hadn't ratted on her.

Elena returned back to her room, but couldn't fall asleep until really late in the morning.

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><p><strong>N: Damon will be back next chapter. Hope you liked this little chat between girls. Don't forget to drop a review.<strong>


	18. Chapter 18

**N: I was debating whatever to post this short one or make you all wait for a bigger one. I decided to post it like that. I started working on my the next chapter for "friends with benefits" so the next update for this story will probably be after I have posted there.**

**As always, reviews are more than welcome – necessary even – and any questions that are raised in a signed review will be answered. Enjoy!**

**Thank you **Dez2sweet for looking over this so fast - as always.****

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><p><strong>Just a Bad Dream<strong>

Jeremy took a seat in his old arm-chair and took a sip of his coffee. Ever since he went to the Salvatore mansion two weeks ago he could not stop thinking about Katherine Salvatore. There was something about the lady that he found familiar. Katherine Salvatore hadn't been acting like anyone else when he filmed her. No, she acted like a pro. She knew how to stand, how to move and how to smile to give Jeremy the right angles and footage every time.

He walked by the video, pulled out the tape, inserting another. He'd been watching the tapes he filmed that weekend outside the Boarding House with the Salvatore family over and over again. There was something off about them. It wouldn't be obvious to anyone, but to a professional with Jeremy Lovejoy's instinct and experience, it was. From what he could tell, Mr. and Mrs. Salvatore were having problems. He noticed how every time Katherine Salvatore would touch him, the senator's first instinct was to pull back. He didn't actually pull back, and the gesture was almost impossible to notice, but Jeremy did.

Placing the cup on the small table in front of him, he pressed "pause" to freeze the image where Mrs. Salvatore had just made a mistake. But Jeremy knew that her mistake had been deliberate. Like from time to time she would realize she was acting like a professional and try to cover it up. Her way of moving, talking and just about everything about her reminded him of another professional he used to work it. Jeremy let put a sigh at the memory of Elena Gilbert. He nearly lost it when Katherine Salvatore had opened the door. She looked so much like Elena, his first instinct was to wrap his arms around her and start believing in miracles. But then he remembered that the woman in front of him was not his friend and colleague. She was a stranger. Or was she?

Jeremy let the tape play and closed his eyes for a few minutes. When he opened them, he grabbed the phone and called Alaric.

"Hey, something wrong?" he asked.

"Did you watch the tape I gave you?" Jeremy asked, going straight to the point. He liked Alaric, he was a good man, a good boss, and a possible good friend, but Jeremy had other things on his mind rather than socializing.

"I did, I don't get it. is there something wrong with it?"

"You kidding, it's a great piece of work, no, I'm done with it, it's already been sent to the studio. Didn't you notice anything strange?"

"Strange? You want me to look at something specific?"

The man was impossible. If someone knew Elena Gilbert, that was Alaric Saltzman. "The woman, Katherine Salvatore, she looks a lot like Elena," he said.

"What about it? Old news my friend; we realized that since Damon Salvatore got into politics and he and his wife started showing on television."

"I must've missed that…"

"Or you were too stoned to notice it then," Alaric commented.

"Probably," Jeremy answered, not at all insulted by his boss's words towards him. "did you find out who sent you that envelope with Elena's things?"

"No. I made a few calls, but no one could give me a straight answer. They said everything is possible since it's been a total chaos after the accident."

'Like mixing two bodies that looked similar enough' Jeremy thought. But that made no sense, even if it happened and Elena was alive, why would she live her life as someone else?

Lucky 13

Right after the second scream, Elena jumped out of bed and ran into Anna's room. She rushed inside and kneeled besides the bed. She placed her hand on the little girl's shoulder and stroked her delicately, afraid not to scare her more.

"Anna, wake up baby," Elena whispered, but the girl kept yelling and twisting in bed, clenching her little fists.

Before Elena could panic, Damon stormed into the room and joined her beside Anna's bed. Looking for support, Elena's free hand reached for Damon's and thanked God that this time he understood enough to not pull back the way he usually did. He knew that what was happening now was way bigger than the misunderstanding between them as husband and wife. Now they just had to be parents.

"She's so scared. What do we do, Damon?" she asked.

Damon bent over a bit more and took his daughter's hand into his own, giving it a firm squeeze. He started talking to her gently.

"What's happening?" Giuseppe asked from the doorway. Elena turned around and saw Damon's parents both standing there with worried expressions on their faces.

"She had another nightmare," Damon resumed.

"Poor child," Antonella said in a shy voice. "We herd her cries all the way from our wing of the house.

Elena turned back towards Anna as soon as her yelling stopped and the child just threw herself in her mother's arms. She was just rocking her tiny body back and forward, softly stroking her hair. "Shhh, it's okay baby, you are okay. Mommy and daddy are here, you're safe now," she murmured.

"Is there something you want us to do?" Giuseppe asked.

"No, she'll be fine now that she woke up. Katharine and I will put her back to sleep," Damon said and both his parents left in silence.

Anna was still crying softly, holding Elena for dear life, but she was starting to calm down and Elena was grateful for that. She took her time, giving the child time to recover as well and trying to find the most appropriate way to approach the little girl. She seemed so terrified. But Elena understood. She had been having trouble sleeping well herself after memories from the crash started rushing back.

"It was just a bad dream. I know you're scared, mommy gets scared sometimes too, but it's ok, because if we're together, we can help each other and nothing bad will happen, ok?"

"It will get me…" the child mumbled.

"What would get you?"

"The fire, it will get me."

"No, sweetie, nothing can get you. mommy got you out of the fire, remember?" Elena asked, but the girl was still too scared to answer. "You are safe now baby. Maybe a wet towel to cool you off would be good before getting back to sleep," Elena said and Damon went to the bathroom and came back with a wet pink towel in record time.

After they both washed her burning body and Elena dressed Anna in new and dry pajamas, Elena asked the child if she was ready to lie down.

"Not yet," Anna answered timidly.

"What if I stay here, beside you?"

"You will?" Anna asked and Elena's heart broke for the child. She was too young and too innocent in all this mess.

"I will, I promise. I'll stay with you all night to protect you," Elena said stroking the child's red cheeks. When Anna was convinced that Elena won't be going anywhere, she let her head on the pillow and let herself fall asleep in her mother's arms.

"Why didn't you tell me about the dreams?" Elena asked and Damon just shrugged as he picked up the wet towel and took it back into the bathroom. He only answered Elena's question when he got back.

"She used to have them almost every night, but not since you came back from the hospital. I thought you coming back had put a stop to them altogether, but I guess not," he said and Elena felt bad already for what she was about to say.

"it doesn't look like the psychologist's helping much, does it? I mean, I don't want to question your parents' choices, I know they want what's best for Anna, but…maybe we should try other options," she said carefully.

"its fine, you are right, this shrink deal's not working. I am opened to suggestions. I know we have our differences, Katherine, but she is our baby and she needs her mother, I am not going to deny that to her, not while you behave," he added the second part in a rougher voice which made Elena's heart skip a beat.

"I heard about this doctor, he has worked on post-traumatic stress in children before and got very good results," Damon raised an eyebrow at her. "I saw him in a show; it has a great name and a lot of experience. He doesn't seem like the cocky type looking to get rich and famous at any cost. I think he really wants to help people and he is good at what he does."

"I guess it's worth a shot," Damon said simply.

"I will call as soon as possible to make an appointment."

"Alright."

After that a tensioned silence settled in the room and Elena almost fell asleep. When Damon moved, she opened her eyes wide. He was still standing, close to bed, watching over Anna, just like her.

"You can go back to your room now, she's asleep. I'm pretty sure you're not comfortable there, the bed's too small for two," Damon said before letting himself fall in the big chair besides the bed.

"I'll stay, it's not that bad."

"She won't know if you leave."

"I'll know, I promised her I'll stay, so I'll stay, but you can go back. I'll call for you if anything happens."

"I'll stay too."

"It's not necessary, but if you want to…"

"I do."

And she fell asleep watching him watch her.

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><p><strong>N: Hope you liked it, I cannot wait to read your thoughts.<strong>


	19. Chapter 19

**N: So, here is the next chapter, hope you'll enjoy it.**

**As always, thank you Dez2sweet for checking this so fast!**

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><p><strong>Falling<strong>

When Elena woke up the room was still sealed in the dark. She took a quick peek at the child sleeping next to her and smiled satisfied when she saw that Anna was still deeply asleep. Careful, not to wake the child, Elena slipped out of bed. She stretched her hands and back as much as she was able to. Her joints were hurting because she had spent too much time in the same position, but it didn't matter as long as Anna managed to get some sleep. Her joints and muscles will be fine after a long shower, a run, and some breakfast; not necessarily in that order.

She looked at Damon who was still asleep in the armchair. His head was tilted aside and Elena was sure that the position could not be a very comfortable one. It looked like his head was resting on his shoulder. Just thinking he must've been in that position for hours gave Elena a painful pain in her neck. Despite the uncomfortable sleep-position, he looked relaxed. His chest was going up and down in a calm rhythm. Even in his sleep, his beauty made Elena's heart beat irregularly. She cared for him, her heart ached for him and Elena realized that no matter how much time she spent telling herself that she was there just on a professional mission as a reporter in need of a story, the truth was she was there for Damon more than anything else.

His shirt was not buttoned all the way and she could see his chest and abs. She tried, but couldn't tear her eyes away. Deep inside her there was a desire to touch him and be touched by him; to hold him close and explore every groove and every muscle of his body. Elena knew without a doubt that if he would ever ask for his conjugal right, she would give herself to him without any hesitation.

His wife had been an evil bitch who only loved herself and broke his heart time and time again. Elena wanted to heal his heart, but was this the way to do it? He would probably end up hating her more than he hated Katherine because he would think the only reason she staid was for the story, to forward her career and rebuild her reputation. He will accuse her of using him and his daughter, but that would be a lie, she fell in love with his daughter from the moment the child gave Elena the first hug when she was still in pain after the operation.

Damon moved and let out a moan of pain as he brought his head uptight. His eyelids fluttered a few times before finally opening, fixated on Elena.

"Is your neck hurting?" she asked.

"A little. What time is it?"

"I don't really know, but I think it's pretty early." Elena stepped behind the chair and placed her hands on Damon's neck. At first she barely applied any pressure, but encouraged by his muffed moans, she pushed harder, slipping her hands further on his spine and back on his chest and shoulders.

After a few seconds of complete silence, Damon practically jumped from the chair and started buttoning his shirt like he was afraid Elena might eat him alive if he wouldn't.

"We should let her sleep, it's still early," Damon whispered and Elena nodded making her way out of the room.

"I'll make us some breakfast," she said.

"Coffee will do,"

"It's okay, I can cook you something. I don't mind." Elena knew that Pearl was not up yet. It was too early and besides, by now she was familiar enough with the kitchen to make some breakfast.

"Then I guess some eggs," he said taking a seat at the big table in the kitchen.

When Elena started whisking the eggs in a bowl, Damon stood up from the chair and walked towards her, "What are you doing?"

"I'm making scrambled eggs. F…for me," she went on since she realized she had no idea how he liked his eggs. "You can finish and I'll make a tomato salad and some toast."

She watched Damon in the corner of her eyes as he fried two eggs for himself. He slid them into a plate, grabbed her scrambled eggs and placed them on the table. By this time Elena was done with the salad. She took the slices of bread as they just popped from the toaster, buttered them and brought them to the table.

"It's been forever since we had breakfast together," Elena said as they started eating. The silence felt uncomfortable for her especially when Damon was around. She always had this fear that every time he was silent he was analysing her. One day, she thought he would point a finger at her and yell: 'you are not my wife? Who are you?'

"We never had breakfast Katherine, you don't eat breakfast," he spat.

"Well since they made me have it in the hospital, I got used to it," she said simply but she could see it on his face, he wasn't buying it.

Elena could tell by his automatic moves that he was angry. Lately whatever she said or did seemed to make him angry. She felt like she had no way out.

"You want some juice?" she asked as she poured herself a glass. Swallowing anything solid at this point was too much for Elena so she decided some orange juice might help her with that.

"Save yourself the trouble Katherine."

"What trouble?"

"This." he paused. "All of this, making me breakfast. All this gestures are nothing more but your machinations to warm your way back into my good graces."

"My machinations?"

"Domesticity isn't really your thing Katherine so stop, just stop! Cooking me breakfast, rubbing my neck, tucking my hair –"

"You seemed to enjoy it," Elena fired back.

"They don't mean a goddamn thing." He shrugged indifferent, but Elena could tell he was anything but indifferent.

"They do!"

"I can stomach the kisses and public displays of affection. If you want to make a fool out of yourself go ahead, but I'm not going to pretend we're a loving couple Katherine. None of this matter to me, none of it."

"It matter and you know it," she protested.

"Why would it matter? We both know it's all just a show. I must admit Katherine, your acting skills are impressive. Last light I almost believed you."

"You…" Elena stood up, pointing a finger at Damon. Now she was the one getting angry. How dare he call her a...what was he calling her anyway? A liar? She was one, but not in the way he was accusing her. "I was just as concerned about Anna as you were."

"Yes, sure," he mocked.

"You don't believe me?"

"Can you blame me? I fell for your act way too many times Katherine."

"It's not an act, I care," she shouted.

"Why?"

"_Why_? Because she is _our child_, Damon, that's why."

"So was the one you aborted! But that didn't stop you from killing it!"

The words went through her like a sword. She took a seat back on the chair because her knees were failing to support her. "What did you think that I would never find out?" he asked in a voice that gave Elena chills. "But to find out from a complete stranger that my wife was no longer pregnant. For God's sake, Katherine, you were barely alive, and all I wanted to do was kill you myself."

Now that he was talking about it, the memory came back to her. "What about the baby? Please I just want to know if the fetus survived," she distinguished Damon's voice. "Fetus? Your wife wasn't pregnant Mr. Salvatore."

Elena was horrified, now she understood why Damon hated his wife so much, why he was being so cold towards her. She understood everything.

"Didn't you think I would notice you won't be giving birth, Katherine? You so eagerly flaunt it in my face that you were pregnant, why didn't you tell me about the abortion as well?"

Elena just shook her head. She had no explanations and no excuses. She had nothing to give him.

"Answer me Katherine! I think it's about time we talked about this, don't you?"

"I…I didn't think it would matter that much," Elena whispered. "I know your policies on abortion Mr. Salvatore. You always talk about the women's right to choose. Or that applies to every woman in the state except your own wife?"

"Yes, damnit!"

"How hypocritical of you."

Elena kept telling herself that she was Katherine in his eyes so she had to answer the way Damon's wife would've.

Damon grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet and Elena admitted that in that moment, so close to her, he looked intimidating.

"Whatever I talk about in my campaigns applies to the larger public, not necessary onto my personal life. _This_ abortion wasn't an _issue_, Katherine. It was _my baby_." He took a step back, letting her go. "Or was it"

"It takes two to make a baby, Damon."

"Oh I know. I still regret that night. I swore never to touch you again. But you came to me and you did always know what buttons to push. You were lucky, I had too much to drink otherwise it would've never happened." He made a grimace and Elena looked away because the disgusted way he was watching her was too much, she knew his words and hatred weren't really towards her, but she couldn't help it. "Was that your plan all along Katherine? Did you want to get pregnant and get an abortion just to hurt me? Or did you just want to prove that you can get me in your bed?"

"I –"

"It doesn't matter; I don't even hate you anymore. It takes too much energy to hate you and you don't deserve it Katherine. I don't care what you do anymore. You can take all the lover you want, sleep with whomever you want. I. Do. Not. Care. The only possible way you can hurt me is through Anna and I'd rather kill you before I let that happen," he placed his still full cup of coffee in the sink and got out, leaving Elena alone.

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><p><strong>N: Please don't forget to leave me a review on your way out.<strong>


	20. Chapter 20

**N: Hey guys, no DE this chapter, but I hope you'll still like it.**

**Thank you very much Dez2sweet for looking over this.**

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><p><strong>The truth will set you free<strong>

Elena decided to go horseback riding for the first time as Katherine Salvatore that afternoon. She decided it was the only thing that would, not only refresh her mind and calm her, but also take her away from the house.

One thing was for sure, Katherine Salvatore had been a monster. She abused her own child, her husband, and destroyed pretty much everything she had come in contact with. It was hard for Elena to understand why someone would do that. Why would a woman who had Damon's love take it for granted? At first she'd been lost, desperately trying to put the pieces together. She knew from the start that something was wrong between Damon and his wife. The cold way he was treating her made it fairly clear from the beginning that they were not a happy couple. Yet, Elena had trouble accepting Damon's behaviour. Not anymore. Now she knew. Not only Katherine had cheated on her husband numerous times, but she made no secret of it. Elena knew that Damon decided to stay married to Katherine until after the elections and if it weren't for that, Katherine would've been long gone.

Katherine's abortion was not a simple common case, it was a political issue and Elena knew enough about politics and how it all works and that if anyone were to find out about it, they could use it against Damon.

When she got back from her ride Elena went to the kitchen. She gave Anna – who was being fed by Pearl – a hug and ran in her room. As she closed the door, her eyes immediately stopped on the dressing table. Her jewellery box was opened and she was pretty sure she always closed it. Also, her lotion and hand cream had been moved. Not for the first time, Elena noticed that her things had been moved around. She turned back towards the door and locked it.

After a long, hot shower Elena decided to lay down for an hour or two. She didn't sleep well the previous night and the hot water managed to relax her tense muscles a little. She felt a little sleepy, so it was the perfect opportunity for a nap. As she lay her head on the pillow, she heard a paper sound coming from underneath. She stuck her hand under and as predicted, she pulled out a folded piece of paper. In the center of the sheet it was typed:

_Whatever you're doing, it's working on him. Keep it up._

***Lucky 13***

Elena thought about a better way to contact Alaric for days, but she found none. No matter how she looked at it, it will be a shock for the old man. The thing was, she had to tell him, she was in way over her head and even if she would die rather than admit that out loud, she was scared. She needed help, she needed support; she just needed a friend, someone she could trust. One thing was for sure, she couldn't just show up on his doorsteps, he might have a heart attack. Of course, she couldn't call either. Besides the fact that her voice sounded different, Alaric might think it was a tasteless prank. He had to deal with a lot of those in his days; she knew how skeptical he was. So ultimately, she decided to write him a little letter and mail it the same way she mailed him the jewelry from the hospital.

She stared at the black piece of paper for hours before even starting it. There were no guidelines as far as she knew on how to write a letter to someone who thought you are dead but that in fact you are alive. Finally, she decided that the best approach would be straightforwardness:

_Dear Alaric,_

_I didn't die in the plane crash. I will explain the bizarre circumstances Wednesday at your apartment at 6 o'clock._

_Love Elena_

She wrote the letter with her left hand so the old man will recognize her handwriting. It came so naturally and it felt so good to do something Elena-like for once.

Damon had been avoiding her even since the breakfast incident. They barely spoke with each other. Elena just pocked her head through the door to tell him about the appointment she made with the psychologist for Anna. He said he will put it on his agenda and that was pretty much it. It took Elena a lot of time and she had to mention Damon's name quite a few times to finally get the rendezvous. She thought that, since Damon and she were not on speaking terms, it would give her more time to think about what she was going to say to Alaric on Wednesday, but she'd been wrong.

When the day finally arrived and she found herself in front of Alaric's door, Elena almost had a panic attack. And she was not the panicking type. How would she explain herself? Nothing she would say or do would make it easier on Alaric, so she decided to just go on and get it over with. She knocked softly and the door opened almost immediately. Alaric's expression was still and severe "Who the hell are you?" he asked, but Elena decided not to let his ferocity scare her. She knew the real Alaric. She knew the sentimental fool with a golden heart. She smiled shyly and reached over to touch his hand. As soon as her fingers came in contact with his skin, the old man's expression changed from rigid to fragile in an instant.

"It's me Alaric, Elena."

"Elena…how is that? When did…? Is that really you?"

"I'll explain inside," she said giving him a gentile push. She closed the door behind them. Taking her time, she looked at him. He looked tired and like he hadn't been eating much. It was her fault; she broke him by letting him believe she was dead all this time. She's been aware from the start of what her death could do to him and Jeremy…poor Jeremy, she liked him so much; they were so alike: passionate and determined. She wondered how _he_ handled her "death."

"Oh, Ric, I am sorry. I am so sorry," she mumbled before collapsing into his arms and crying like a baby.

"You…your face is different," he commented as he was stroking her smooth, straight hair.

"I know."

"And your voice sounds different too."

"I know."

"It was your eyes…that's how I recognized you."

"I didn't change on the inside Ric. It's still me," she whispered and he nodded, pulling back a few inches to look at her.

"What on earth happened? Where were you? God, I can't believe this!"

"I know, neither can I. I am so glad to see you Ric, I have missed you so much. How have you been?"

"Good, you?"

"Good, good. How's Jeremy?"

"Still smoking more than he should, but overall, he is good too. Did you have amnesia?"

"No."

"Then what happened?" he asked, studying her face. "You look…I am not used with you looking like that. You look like-"

"Katherine Salvatore."

"Yes, Damon Salvatore's wife. She was on that flight too, right?"

"Did you identify my body, Ric?" she asked ignoring his question.

"Yes. By your locket."

"It's her you identified. She had my locket."

"How…"

"Listen, when I regained consciousness in the hospital, I was in pain, dizzy and confused. Everyone was calling me Katherine or Mrs. Salvatore. For a few days, or weeks, I really don't remember the line of time, I actually believed them. I thought I might've had amnesia. As soon as I realized who I was, I figured what happened, but by that time, it was too late. The family had arranged for a famous doctor to reconstruct Katherine's face. I was bandaged from head to toe, I couldn't move or speak a single word."

"I need a drink," Alaric said. He caressed her knuckles and got up. "You want one?" he asked and she nodded. He poured two glasses of – what looked like whisky – and got back on the couch beside Elena.

"Ok, I follow so far. A terrible mistake was made and you couldn't warn anyone about it, but after, when you started to talk again, why didn't you say anything? Why are you still in Katherine Salvatore's place?"

Elena stood up and started roaming the untidy room. How was she going to convince Alaric about her intentions? Would he help her?

"Somebody planes to kill Damon Salvatore before he becomes senator."

"What?"

"Somebody pla –"

"Who?"

"I don't know."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"When?"

"God, Ric, I don't know. Stop asking me questions I don't have answers to and listen."

"Listen!? Elena Gilbert, you put me through hell thinking you were dead. Don't you dare tell me to shut up," Alaric shouted. He was glad she was alive, but he was also mad at her for not contacting him sooner.

"This hasn't been easy for me either, Ric, believe me. Now, I know someone will try to kill Damon –"

"How do you know that?"

"Because the killer told me."

"Told you?" Alaric asked confused and Elena felt like yelling at him. Couldn't he just let her finish her story? That would be much easier to understand.

"Yes. Believing I was Katherine, someone came to me while I was still in the ICU. I couldn't see who, because one of my eyes was covered in bandages and he was standing behind my shoulder, but only family members were allowed in my chamber in the hospital."

"Someone could've snuck in," Alaric offered.

"No. The place was guarded since Damon didn't want the press near me. And also, a random assassin would've probably vanished as soon as the one who hired him became…unavailable."

"So, you took Katherine Salvatore's place to save Damon Salvatore's life?"

"Right."

"But you have no idea who plans to kill him or when or why."

"Not yet, but Katherine did. She was part of it, I am sure."

"Well, this sure as hell is bizarre," Alaric commented. Elena could read the sarcasm in his voice; she knew him way too well not to notice things like that.

"You don't believe me, do you?" she asked and he let out a deep sigh.

"I believe _you_ believe it happened. You said it yourself Elena, you were out of it and on heavy medications."

"I was starting to believe that as well until this," Elena reached into her bag and pulled out the note she had found a few days ago in her bedroom.

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><p><strong>N: I know the chapter's short and it ends quite sudden, but the conversation is much longer and there is another DE confrontation coming up and I wanted them in the same chapter. <strong>

**Reviews are highly appreciated.**


	21. Chapter 21

**N: Sorry for the eternal wait guys, here is the next chap, enjoy!**

**Thank you Dez2sweet and Ali for looking over this!**

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><p><strong>Need to talk<strong>

She handed Alaric the note and took a seat back on the couch. Alaric seemed to study that piece of paper in every way possible.

"It doesn't say anything about killing Damon Salvatore." Elena pushed herself up from the couch and walked slowly back to her old friend. She snatched the piece of paper from his hands, folded it, and put it back in her purse.

"Of course he didn't, Ric. He wouldn't risk it. I checked the typewriter from the ranch and it matches this one perfectly."

"Well, who had access to it?"

"Anyone, it's not hidden or anything. It's on the desk…anyone on the ranch could have used it."

"What does he or she mean by 'whatever you are doing'? What are you doing?"

Elena took a breath in, trying to cover up her quilt. "I am not sure…" she mumbled.

"Elena…" Alaric raised an eyebrow at her, the way he used to do when she was a little girl and he knew she'd been lying. Just looking at him Elena could tell she was busted.

"There isn't anything specific. I am just trying to get along with Damon better than his wife did, at least lately."

"Why exactly?"

"I noticed from the beginning that there was something wrong between Damon and his wife. It was the way he was treating her…well, me. With respect, doing what everyone was expecting him to do as a carrying, protective, and adoring husband, but he was doing it all from a distance."

"Do you know what happened between them?"

"Everybody knows even though no one seems willing to talk about it. Katherine turned out to be a selfish, self-centred manipulative bitch –"

"Language!"

"Sorry. She had, or planned to have an abortion just to mess with his mind. She was cheating on him openly and if there was an award for worst mother of the year, she would have won all of them since the birth of her child. She might have also hit on Damon's brother; I am not sure about that."

"Aha," Alaric drank the rest of his beverage and put the glass on the table. He looked at it for a few seconds before finally pouring himself another one. "Why have you been trying to get along with the man better anyway? Isn't that more…complicated for you?"

"In a way. But I had to know more and Damon refuses to talk to me. Not that I blame him, I wouldn't trust that woman in a million years," Elena let out a deep breath before continuing. "This is real Ric. I can feel it."

"Let's say it is. According to you, it's someone from his family –"

"No one looks like a murderer if that's what you want to ask," Elena answered the question before Alaric had the time to actually say the words.

"Well, Elena, you are the one alleging that one of them in fact is a murderer."

"Each of them has problems, but their problems are not with Damon. Both his parents seem strict, especially Giuseppe, but it's obvious they both just want what's best for their children. His mother hates me, she doesn't say anything, but I can tell. She probably blames me for everything that went wrong in Damon's life."

"When you say 'hates you' you mean Katherine Salvatore, right?"

"Yes."

"Go on."

"His brother's always in the shadow. He works hard, but Damon's the one accredited by the public. I thought about it, but now I am not so sure. I think he genuinely wants to see his brother win the elections. I think Katherine had an affair with Elijah, but I am not sure, all I have is Rebekah's word on that."

"Elijah; isn't he the campaign manager?"

"The one and only."

"I thought you said she was hitting on his brother not his friend."

"I did and she was. I told you Damon's wife was not trying to keep a low profile. Poor Damon."

"What does 'poor Damon' think about his dear wife?"

"He knows most of it, although if Katherine was sleeping with Elijah or Stefan I doubt he knew about it. I am more worried about his daughter. You should see the poor child Ric; she is scared all the time. She's one of the quietest children I have ever seen, I hope she'll be able to heal."

"Oh I know that look Elena. She is not your responsibility," Alaric threw his hands in the air. He could already predict Elena's reaction to his words. She was such a do-gooder inside. One of her best qualities was also one of the worst defaults: she cared too much.

"I am just being human, Ric," Elena defended herself.

"You are doing it again, Elena. The same mistakes as seven years ago when you came to my door like wounded dog asking for help."

"I know I made a mistake, I remember."

"It doesn't seem like you do. You committed the biggest faut pas in the history of journalism, Elena. You looked directly into the camera and declared that Florida's Senator had killed his own wife in cold blood and then blew his own brains out. The first reporter at the scene, you went in live. You smelled the blood."

"You know what, I did. Literally! I saw the effect it had on those kids, after what their father did –"

"_Allegedly_ did! How many times do I have to tell you? You did that on camera. Your objectivity went out of the window, Elena, you cracked, right there in front of the camera on live TV."

"You don't have to remind me of that Alaric. I know what I did. It's been hunting me since. Believe me I learned my lesson."

"Did you? Coz' you're doing that same thing again!"

"No I am not."

"Bullshit! Elena, I know you are trying to redeem your mistake and build yourself a name, but that is not the way to do it. What if the killer decides to give up and fade into thin air? What then; are you going to remain Katherine Salvatore for the rest of your life?"

"No…"

"So, one day you are just going to tap Salvatore on the back and be like: 'Oh, by the way I'm not your wife'?"

"No, I…" Elena was on defence and couldn't find her words anymore. She felt like everything she said could and would be used against her.

"I can't let you do this Elena."

"I can't back up now, I am committed to this. This is news."

"News my ass, you just want another woman's husband, Elena!"

Elena froze. For a full minute they were both quite, looking at each other, but neither of them dared to break the silence. There was just too much tension, and it felt like the fuel had just come to an end.

"That was a cheap shot," she whispered and Alaric just nodded.

"I am sorry," he said sincerely. "But, Elena, just think about it. If there is someone who wants Damon Salvatore dead –"

"There is."

"Then you are in danger too."

"I know, but I have to do this. I live in fear that the killer might notice Katherine is not really Katherine. I think he already suspects it since I am actually being a mother to Ana and a…"

"A wife to the future Congressman."

"Sort of."

"How are things between the two of you?"

"I didn't sleep with him."

"I didn't ask."

"But that's what you wanted to know. I am a reporter too."

"Would you. If he wanted to, would you?"

"Sleep with him? Yes."

"At least you're honest about it."

"He's been wonderful with me, Ric. I think I would have actually let myself die if it weren't for him."

"I understand…"

"I have to go, but first you must promise me you won't tell anyone."

"Elena!"

"Please, Ric," Elena knew just how to say 'please' to make Alaric's old heart melt. She knew she was taking a little bit advantage of the fact that she knew just how soft he was on the inside, but it was something that had to be done. She had to be sure Alaric wouldn't tell anyone about it."

"Fine, I won't tell anyone anything, but don't think for a moment I have dropped the subject, Elena."

"I love you too Ric."

"God help me. You have your mother's determination and your father's compassion. The stubbornness comes from both." Alaric took a few steps forward, stopping in front of his old desk. He opened the small drawer on the right and took out a shiny box. "I believe this is yours," he said handing Elena her lost necklace.

"Thank you, Ric. You have no idea how much this means to me," Elena grabbed the necklace and took out the pictures inside, the ones she had with her parents, and then handed it back to Alaric allowing him to placed it around her neck. She kissed Alaric good-bye and left.

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><p><strong>N: Still no DE, I know, I know. I just had to finish the conversation between Alaric and Elena; they had some catching up to do. The next one's already in progress and it had DE in it, I promise.<strong>


	22. Chapter 22

**N: I know it's super short and not beta-ed, but I wanted to give you guys the chapter before next year. It's a crazy time with the holydays, so I didn't bother my girls with it. hope it's not too bad and you'll leave me a review if you enjoyed it…or not, lol..**

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><p><strong>Thorn<strong>

Damon was at the bottom of the stairs when she got home, he looked like one of those parents waiting for their children, ready to question them.

"Why are you so late?" he asked. _'Predictable'_ Elena thought. She could feel the questions coming from the look on his face. She was ready for it. She made sure she hadn't been followed. She actually went shopping before she stopped at Alaric's and the days before she had left some of the bags in the car to grab today.

"I needed a few more things for the trip. Didn't Pearl give you my message?"

"She did, I just didn't think you were going to be that late," he said and Elena bit the inside of her cheek to hold in a remark. She had lived alone for a very long time; she wasn't used to someone questioning her on where she went and what she did. She wasn't a child; she could take care of herself. But she had to remind herself that she was talking to a cheated man who had every right to suspect his wife of the worst things.

"I got a bit carried away. I am sorry I am so late," Elena said softly. "Could you help me with these, please?" she asked and without hesitation Damon picked up most of her bags and went up the stairs towards her room.

He stopped in the middle of the large chamber and started looking around. Elena knew he had trouble placing things around her room. It had happened before. In her room, Damon felt out of place and she knew it.

"Just leave them on the bed; I will take everything out as soon as I change."

Damon dropped the bags on the bed and turned around to watch Elena do the same to the last two bags in her hands. "Where did you shop," Damon asked.

"The usual," Elena answered. The names of the stores she always went shopping were written clearly on the bags. "Is Ana asleep?" she asked changing the subject; or at least trying to.

"Of course."

"Oh, I was hoping to catch her before bed to say good night," Elena said as she took off her scarf.

"If you wanted to catch her awake, you shouldn't have come home so damn late," Damon commented. "I tucked her into bed about an hour ago."

"Did you read her a story?"

"Mom did."

Elena's blood was boiling in her veins as she felt Damon's eyes taking everything in. He was inspecting the bags, her clothes, her smell, everything.

"Would you stop already? What do you expect to find? You expected me to come home reeking of alcohol, semen and cheap perfume?"

"It had happened before," he answered coldly.

"Before, as in, _in the past_."

"Oh come on Katherine, you don't really expect me to believe that the operation gave you a new personality along with a new face?"

"Believe whatever the hell you want, just leave me alone while you're at it," she snapped. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably. Damn him for making her feel like that; so out of control, so mad. She took off her heels, but when it came to unbutton her shirt her trembling hands were not doing the job.

"Let me," Damon whispered stepping closer to her. Without waiting for her permission, he started unbuttoning the tiny buttons of her shirt one at a time. "It happened so many times before, Kat," he said as the last button came undone and the clothing slipped over her shoulders, to her feet. "You're trembling," he noticed.

"I don't respond well to inquisitions," she explained.

"And I don't respond well to adultery."

"I guess I deserve that, but…" she stopped for a moment just because looking at him took her breath away. "Have I given you any reason to believe I would cheat on you lately?" she asked.

"No."

"So, why can't you trust me?"

"Trust is earned; it doesn't come just like that, especially after all you did and especially where I'm concerned." he looked at her from head to toe. He almost missed her next mumbled words.

"I am willing to do what it takes to earn that trust back," she said softly, but Damon didn't say anything, his eyes were stuck on the tiny locket between her breasts. "You like it? I found it in an antique store. Open it," she urged. "I'll put yours and Anna's pictures in there," she explained after Damon opened the heart shaped locket.

After placing the little object back between her breasts, his fingertips followed the golden chain. His fingers were barely touching her skin, but Elena could feel every fiber of her body burn from that semi-touch. His eyes fund his and lingered there for a moment. He was so beautiful, but so broken. Elena couldn't understand what woman in her right mind would want anything else, or better said anyone else with Damon by her side. Once his eyes slid from her eyes to her lips, Elena bit her bottom one from pure instinct. Damon turned his head aside and she knew he must be at odds with his desires. She could tell he wanted to kiss her, but he was fighting it.

"Damon," she whispered.

"Katherine, don't." hearing her name pulled Elena out of her reverie. "The flight is tomorrow at six am. Can you handle it?"

"The early hour, yes, the flight…I'll do my best, but it has to be done."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. You'll be there."

"I will." He grabbed her hand and Elena could swear he would kiss her, but he didn't. He just gave it a firm squeeze and let her go. "Good night Kat," he murmured before turning around and leave her there all by herself.

***lucky 13***

Alaric almost crushed the phone as he hung up. He had gotten the schedule for Damon Salvatore's campaign that morning and he knew Elena will go with him. She might not thing she was in any immediate danger, but Alaric was not about to take any risks. He didn't want her to be alone, so he decided to send Jeremy. He was the next best thing. It would be good for Elena to have someone on her side in case something went wrong.

"Come in!" he shouted after the second knock on the door. "Finally, I thought you got lost on your way," he mumbled as a slightly frightened young man made his way into the tiny office. "I'm sending Jeremy with you instead of Mason to document the Salvatore campaign."

"Oh come on man, the kid's a pain to work with," the young man complained.

"My decision if final; you don't like it, John, quit!" Alaric snapped. John didn't dare to say anything else. He just assured Alaric he'd be on his way and slipped out of the office as soon as he could.

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><p><strong>N: In the next chapter Stefan and Damon will have a bit of a misunderstanding.<strong>


	23. Chapter 23

**N: I'm having trouble with e-mails, that's why this is not beta-ed, I couldn't reach my beta. I am sorry for any mistakes you might find.**

**In the next chapter, big DE moment…**

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><p><strong>Hold my hand and I will fly<strong>

Elena took her seat beside Damon on the small private plane. The chairs were not like the ones she was used with. These ones were big and comfortable. They were in pale brown leather, with a massage button and a heating button. There was even a couch and relatively big tables where a chef would bring them food that could actually be consumed. She was trying to find as many differences as she could to make sure she had a strong case against the odds of that horrible accident repeating. After many failed attempt, she finally attached her seatbelt and took a deep breath. Damon was seated to her right and to her left there was a tiny window.

Damon was watching his wife in the corner of his eye. He knew she was nervous and scared, but she was putting on a brave face. Before the accident, he didn't remember ever seeing signs of nerves, but since she got back, he started to notice little things. She would either tuck her hair behind her ear or started putting on hand cream or playing with a certain object she had in her hands until the object was broken. Just after she attached her seatbelt, she started putting on hand cream. Her hands were red as she kept massaging them. When Damon thought it was enough, he pushed up the arm rest between the two seats and grabbed her hands.

"At this rate you're going to peel off your skin," he said. Elena turned to look at him and Damon smiled at her. Just one simple gesture, but it gave her all the strength she needed.

***Lucky 13***

Once in the hotel room, Damon took off his tie and climbed in bed. He turned on the TV, just for some background noise. He was still thinking at the flight, how she held on to him all the way through the flight. He was just getting to the part where they passed some light turbulences and he had to talk to his wife and calm her down when Elijah stormed into the room.

"Turn that thing off, Damon," he ordered and Damon did as told. "Listen there is a meeting at noon tomorrow at the Royal Club, their scheduled speaker got sick and they want you to take his place. There are about two – three hundred of them, all educated, rich people."

"Sounds more like Klaus's people," Damon commented.

"They are; that's why it's important that you go, and take Katherine with you too; their wives would be there. Katherine, dress classical, not a lot of jewellery, we don't want them to think we have something to prove –"

"I can't go," Elena said softly.

"What do you mean you can't go?" Elijah snapped.

"Anna's appointment with the doctor is tomorrow at one."

"Crap," Damon cursed. "It totally slipped my mind."

"This is a great opportunity, Damon," Elijah was slowly losing his patience. There was only so much he could do for the campaign if his friend refused to cooperate.

"Can's you just get another appointment, Katherine?" Stefan asked.

"It was hard enough to get this one; it would probably be weeks until I get another one if not months. I don't think it's good for Anna to wait that long," she answered.

"Your mother could accompany Katherine to the doctor, they will tell you what the doctor said after," Giuseppe offered and Antonella sustained his proposition.

"Mom, dad, I appreciate it, but she is my daughter," Damon said.

"Damon, I think mom and dad are right –" Stefan started, but Damon didn't let him finish.

"What do you think Katherine?" he asked and Elena shook her head in disbelieve. He never asked for her opinion before.

"They are both very important, Damon. It's your decision," she said. Elijah cursed under his breath. _This_ Katherine was driving him insane. Before, when she yelled and screamed and complained all the time, she was easier to refuse and be put in her place, but now that she used this calm diplomacy, Elijah knew even before Damon said the words that Katherine won this time. He threw the papers on the table and stormed out after Damon announced that family came first and that he'll take the appointment with Anna instead of a speech for some rich snobs.

Giuseppe and his wife followed the campaign manager, in hopes to calm him a little and Stefan stood up from his chair, walking slowly towards the armchair Elena was seated in.

"I hope you're happy now," he spat. Elena stood up as well, ready to defend herself, but Damon was faster.

"That's enough Stef," he shouted and his brother backed up from Elena immediately.

"How can you let her do that to you?" he asked his brother. "She's manipulating you with this good-mother routine."

"What happens between my wife and I is none of your business, brother," Damon said, emphasising the words: _wife_, _I_ and _none_.

"Of course it is. I've invested yeas in this to see you get elected and now you are letting her ruin everything!"

"I am grateful for everything you've done, Stefan, but I hardly think one speech would cost me the elections. Plus, this is not about you, me or Katherine, it's about Anna and you know I just want to do what's best for my daughter. This appointment is a priority."

After taking another glance at Elena Stefan left the room. Elena turned around facing Damon. "Is that what you think, that I'm playing a role?" she asked.

Damon didn't answer, not because he didn't want to, but because he had no idea what to think. Damon was used to be in control in a relationship. Even since his first conquest at age fourteen, he learned how to handle women. He wasn't stupid, he knew women liked him, and he liked them. Before Katherine, there was Rose, his most serious relationship. It lasted two years until they both agreed that they weren't each other's forever after. One year later Katherine Pierce stepped into his law firm. Stefan did most of the hiring at that time. For Katherine, he asked Damon's opinion and after Damon approved, Katherine was hired as a legal assistant. It took Damon a few months to actually break his own work rules and ask Katherine out. Her big, brown eyes and her seductive smile stole Damon heart; he fell in love with her so deeply that nothing else mattered. Just after half a year of dating, Damon asked Katherine to be his wife, two months later they were married and in a few weeks, Katherine was pregnant with Anna.

During the pregnancy Katherine complained about everything. No matter what Damon would do or say, nothing was good enough. Her doe eyes were no longer sparkling when she looked at him, but filled with disappointment and hate. It was as if she was blaming Damon for ruining her perfection with his child.

Once she gave birth, she not only wanted nothing to do with Anna, but put all her energy into getting back in shape. Damon couldn't understand, since she didn't gain that much weight and he swore to her that he loved her no matter what. He understood a few months later when Katherine took her first lover. She made no secret out of it. He knew now, he should've divorced her right then and there, but for Anna's sake, and for the sake of what they once had, he didn't.

Just a few weeks before her trip to Dallas, she came into his room. He had too much to drink and she was as sexy as ever. Even if he swore to himself he would never touch her again, he gave in. The moment she came to him saying she was pregnant and that it was the worst thing that could happen to her, that was the moment Damon realized he didn't love Katherine anymore, and he would never be able to love her again.

Right now, Damon was watching his wife walk towards the bed. "We should order something to eat, he said.

"What would you like?" she asked.

"Anything. I would eat anything at this point."

She lay on her belly, carefully crossing her legs and grabbed the phone. "Yes, peanut-butter with grape-flavoured jelly, that's what I said," he heard her say. "I know it's not on your menu, but that's what the child wants to eat," she argued and Damon let out a giggle. Elena turned around, giving him a bright smile. He adored the way she smiled lately. It wasn't like before, calculated, seductive and sinful. Her smiles were sweet and innocent, almost shy and her eyes were bigger and brighter when she smiled at him or at Anna. Even her kisses were different, they shared just a few, but they didn't taste like deceit and betrayal. Damon took his time and analyzed her kisses since she recovered from the accident; it was as if he was kissing a different woman. He would watch her with Anna or just at the farm with the animals and it was like seeing her for the first time.

Elena pushed her ass up just a little to get off the bed and Damon dick twitched in his pants. What he needed was release. Of course, that would be easy, but he didn't want just sex with just any woman; he wanted it with _this_ woman.

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><p><strong>N: Please review!<strong>


	24. Chapter 24

**N: What is this? An update? Yep, I updated fast, because your lovely reviews made it impossible not to. Really, you guys were so kind and really helped me go on with this. Thank you!**

**Again, this is not beta-ed, so, I am terribly sorry for all the mistakes you might find and I hope you'll still enjoy it.**

**In the next chapter, we'll have some Rebekah and Elijah.**

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><p><strong>The cheering of your name<strong>

Both Damon and Elena were a pack of nerves. They have been waiting for almost an hour for the psychologist to finish with Anna. They were seated on a bench in front of the doctor's office. Elena grabbed Damon's hand, giving it a firm squeeze. "I am glad you're here," she said softly.

"I wanted to be here. I told them before the campaign started that my priority is my family," Damon said.

"How long do you think Elijah's going to be mad at me for?"

"Nah, he's not even mad anymore. I guess mom and dad calmed him down. He stopped by this morning while you were in the shower to wish us luck. He never gets mad anyway, not his type."

"Really…? It's odd."

"What?"

"Nothing," she mumbled, but the thing was, she wanted to know, she needed to know. Elijah didn't live with them, he was hard to read and she had little to no time with him. The best bet way to learn about him was through his friend; through Damon.

"What about women?" she asked and Damon raised an eyebrow at her.

"Elijah's women?" Elena nodded. "I don't now, he doesn't discuss them with me."

"You guys don't talk about your sex life? You're best friends."

"And we're also men. Maybe boys discuss it in the locker room after their physical education class, but men don't."

"Oh, I understand. But, are you sure he's heterosexual?"

"Why? Did he refuse you, Katherine?"

"Go to hell!" Elena snapped and before Damon had the chance to respond, the doctor's assistant was already in front of them.

"He is just finishing up with Anna, he'll be right with you," she said and they both thanked her.

"The reason I'm asking is because your niece is all over him," she said between her teeth once the doctor's assistant reached her desk.

"Rebekah?"

"Yes, she told me so herself one night. She came home with a purple eye after picking up some guy in a bar. The man wasn't able to perform so he took it out on her."

"I didn't –"

"Notice? Nobody did. When it comes to Rebekah it's like she's nothing more but an object. No one actually notices her until she does something crazy. Do you think Elijah might…"

"No, he won't. He wouldn't do that, not with a girl twenty years younger than him. Plus, I know he is going out with someone from the headquarters."

"I hope you're right, Damon. And not because I want Elijah for myself."

***Lucky 13***

"Oh God," Elena whispered to herself. Doctor Fell was explaining to her and Damon that Anna was a traumatized child because of her. Well, not her really, it was Katherine, but this was yet another thing she was going to take responsibility for.

"I'm afraid your daughter doesn't consider herself worthy."

"What can we do?" Damon asked.

"Well, when I talked with her, she insisted on telling me things that happened after the accident. How she played Games of hide and sick with her mommy and how you're reading her stories as she goes to bed. That shows that your behaviour with the child had improved Mrs. Salvatore. You must not beat yourself up for this, you made mistakes, and all parents do. Just keep playing with her, encourage her every time she does something good, rewords are fine as well. Also, make her choose, I have a feeling she hasn't been able to up until recently. She is confused on who she is and what she likes because she was never asked to choose all the choices had been made for her."

"What about the nightmares?" Elena asked in a shaky voice.

"My opinion is that the child is repressing the memories of the accident. How did she react on this flight?"

"We had trouble attaching her seatbelt, but through the flight, she had been calm, even fell asleep for about half an hour," Damon answered.

"Just as I suspected. You see, Mrs. Salvatore, your daughter remembers you taking her on the plane and attaching the seatbelt, but she doesn't recall anything else. She doesn't remember the part where you rescued her from the fire. I am afraid she needs to remember it in order to move past it."

"But how?"

"Well, hypnosis is one way, but I won't recommend it on such a young mind. It will be better if it happens naturally. Next time she has a nightmare, don't wake her up."

Elena was terrified for Anna. She remembered the last time the poor child had a nightmare: her tiny body, sweating and shaking, her screams and her fear. How would they be able to just stay and watch their daughter go through that?

"For Christ's sake," she heard Damon course between his teeth.

"I know it must sound like torture to you Mr. Salvatore to allow your child to go through that but I am afraid is quite necessary for a full recovery."

"I understand," Damon whispered. "Thank you for everything Doctor," he stood up and Dr. Fell did the same. They shook hands and the doctor turned towards Elena.

"I must apologize for staring at you Mrs. Salvatore. It's just that, a few years ago, a young woman did a television interview with me. She could be your twin sister; I don't know if you ever heard of her, her name was Elena Gilbert."

Elena could feel the Oxygen leave her brain. It felt like she would never be able to take a full breath again. It felt like someone was strangling her. Her head was pounding and she could hear a million voices calling her name: Elena Gilbert! Elena Gilbert! She was aware that Damon's hand was on the small of her back, guying her towards the exit, then towards the car. Once inside, she grabbed his hand. The crowd was still cheering her real name: Elena Gilbert! We know who you are. You are Elena Gilbert, not Katherine Salvatore! She was so scared; the only thing keeping her somewhat sane was Damon hand, holding her own.

"Damon," she murmured his name. She just wanted to tell him that she didn't mean to hurt him.

"Katherine," he whispered her name, but not her real name. She opened her eyes. They were back in the hotel room. It was semi-dark and Damon was seated on the edge of the bed, looking at her. On a second glance Elena noticed that he wasn't wearing a shirt. "You fell asleep about an hour ago and I put you to bed," he explained seeing her puzzlement. "What happened Katherine? Even since that doctor mentioned the reporter's name, you've been acting strange."

"Damon, would you please hold me?" she asked shyly. She just needed to know he was there, he was real. "…just for a minute," she went on, noticing Damon was hesitating. He finally closed the space between them, wrapping his arms around her. He could feel her heart beating chaotically against her chest and his.

"The doctor didn't know she was in the same plane crush. He apologized a few times for upsetting you."

"I'm sorry; I must've behaved like a fool. I don't even remember how we got home."

"Like a fool? No, but you certainly were shocked. You almost fainted. You got me worried," he said and Elena smiled. He worried for her that was all that mattered. "I can't believe no one mentioned that Gilbert girl's name before. People used to mistake you for her all the time, remember?" Elena just nodded subtly. "You're still shaking," he pulled away from her and Elena wrapped her own arms around her body. She hadn't noticed she was shaking until he pointed out. "I'll make you a tea, with a drop of rum. It will help you relax a bit; the nightmare must've tensed you up even more."

He made his way towards the tiny kitchen. Elena barely noticed for how long he was gone, to her it seemed like hours but in reality he was back in just a few minutes, handing her a cup of tea. She noticed that he poured himself a glass of – what she guessed was – bourbon, and took a seat beside her on the bed.

It just now occurred to Elena that they were alone. They decided to send Anna back with Damon's parents, agreeing that she would follow in a few days. She was determined to stay and help Damon as much as she could with the campaign. Damon was not in the other room on the small bed; he was there, in the same bed with her. It was the middle of the night and she was wearing just a thin camisole. He was just in his pajama pants and no t-shirt. They were so close, closer than they had been in a while and there was no child between them this time to keep them in place.

She drank her tea in silence, she was afraid to say anything not to scare him away. Elena knew they were still miles away from acting like a real married couple. They shared all the responsibilities and the problem, but not the intimate ones.

Damon turned around to place her cup and his glass on the small night stand and he also switched off the lamp.

"Damon," she breathed.

"Don't say anything to change my mind," he said and she nodded. He cupped her face and moved to bring her closer to him. Elena pushed the cover off her body with her feet to get the blanket away from between them. "I want you," he whispered in her ear and Elena's body responded with a light shiver. His right hand made its way on her leg, going up on her thighs. She moaned softly once his fingers fund her heated triangle between her legs and Damon let out a growl. "You're wet. Who are you so wet for?"

"You told me not to say anything," she murmured.

"Are you wet for me?" he asked.

"Yes, yes, I'm wet for you," she moaned more than spoke. She was feeling each touch, each growl that came out of his throat and each whisper. When his lips finally crushed her, it wasn't like those other times he kissed her, this time he wasn't holding back. His tongue slipped inside her warm mouth, stroking her own. It was as of her mouth was a pot of honey and he was about to collect everything inside.

The first time the phone rang; they both ignored it, but the second time, Damon rose to his feet and answered. Elena knew that whatever was happening between them came to an end the moment Damon's mouth left hers.

"Yes. Yes, Stefan, I'm awake, what's up?"

Elena pulled the covers over her burning body and let out a sight turning her back on Damon.

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><p><strong>N: Please review!<strong>


	25. Chapter 25

**N: Here you go guys, anther update. More of a filter chapter, but it was needed. Why am I updating already? I was blown away by all your reviews, if so many of you took the time to write me a word of encouragement, the least I can do is honour it with a faster update.**

**Not beta-ed again, sorry for the mistakes!**

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><p><strong>Ties and knots<strong>

"Come in, it's opened," Elijah yelled from the tiny bathroom of the hotel room. He called for room-service about thirty minutes ago, so he thought they had arrived. About time too, he was starving.

Rebekah pushed the door opened, got inside and whistled before telling the door close. "If I knew you're wearing just a towel, I would've dressed less formal," she said.

"Less than that?" Elijah asked, undisturbed by her presence. He didn't even have to look at her to know she won't be wearing much, she never did. When he finally put on some pants, he got out of the bathroom. Rebekah was already in the middle of the bed. Just as he expected, she was wearing a tight, red dress that was barely covering her generous curves. He thought about it and he came to the conclusion that not only Rebekah was just a child compared to him, but also, he would be betraying his best friend. Damon had always been there for him, they've been friends since college, and he wouldn't want to risk the friendship and the trust that had been built between them. And there was Stefan too. Rebekah was his daughter and he understood what that meant.

"Like my dress?" she asked in a fake shy voice.

"Aren't you a little too far from home young lady?"

"Home's boring, I came to see you."

"Well, you saw me, now you can go back."

"Now you're just being rude –" she was interrupted by the soft knock on the door. This time it was room-service. A young man came inside the room placing a big tray on the table.

"Anything else sir?" he asked and Elijah gave him a twenty dollar bill telling him that, that will be all for today.

"You tip well," Rebekah commented. She stood up, walked towards the table and took a long look at Elijah's tray. She picked up the apple that was besides the plate and took a big bite from it, chewing it slowly.

"Rebekah," Elijah snapped catching her hand before she managed to take anything else from the plate. "What is that you want from me? Your uncle Damon might just kill me if he finds you here."

"Isn't that exciting?" Rebekah asked, her eyes sparking like she had just hit the Jackpot. She smiled seductively when he looked her in the eyes.

"No, Rebekah, it's not excited. I actually like my job and I like your uncle and your dad –"

"What about my Auntie?" she interrupted him. "Do you like Katherine? Is that why you don't want to sleep with me, because you want her? Well, I think you're out of luck coz' she seems to like Uncle Damon again since she came back from the hospital. She's all over him, really. You don't have to say it, I know you like her, I saw the way you look at her, but she's in love with her husband so I'm here…"

"Go home kid," he said softly. Suddenly he had lost his appetite so he put down the fork and pushed the table out of its way.

"I don't have gas money. My dad cut me off."

"Here, that's enough to get you back home and buy you a burger on the way," he said giving her two fifty dollar bills.

Rebekah took the money and stuffed it in her bra. "Thanks," she said quickly and got out of the room, leaving Elijah alone with his thoughts.

***Lucky 13***

They made a few more stops for just a day before they arrived in El Paso where they will be spending two days and one night. Elena had been shocked to see Jeremy following them with his camera everywhere they went. She even risked herself and called Alaric to ask what was going on. The old man simply told her that he wanted her to have someone she knew close in case something happened.

The Hispanic people loved Damon and seemed to support him. They had been welcomed with opened arms. A few people approached them as they came out of the plane and a young man handed Elena a big bouquet of roses. "Senora Salvatore, como esta?" he asked shyly.

"Bien, grancias," Elena said smiling; she took the flowers for him. "Y usted como esta? Son hermosas," she said looking at the blooming roses. The young man told her the people were happy to receive them and then turned around to join the rest of the group. Elena caught a glance at Damon who looked shocked.

"Since when do you speak Spanish?" he asked skeptically. For a few seconds Elena was lost, she couldn't think of a lie in any language. She took Spanish in College and continued in University. Also, she spent one month in Chile with Alaric when he was following a story there. She was pretty comfortable with the language and he never occurred to her that Katherine might not be since Damon was speaking it really well.

"I thought…I'll surprise you," she mumbled.

"Well, I'm surprised. The Hispanic vote means a lot."

"I know, that's why I decided it wouldn't hurt to know a few words." For the first time in a long time Elena was glad they were surrounded by people otherwise Damon might've had more questions that she wouldn't have had answers for.

As they were flying across the country Elena was determined to learn more about the people close to Damon that were there: Stefan and Elijah. One morning she approached Stefan asking him if he came to see her one morning in the hospital. She mumbled something about being confused. Stefan told her he only visited with Damon and that happened just a few times. He was either a great liar or innocent because Elena believed him.

Elijah got a bit defensive when she approached him. "What would I be doing there? I'm not family," he asked and for good reason. Elena knew that only family members were supposed to be allowed there.

"I'm sorry, I just thought…my memories from that time are fuzzy, I am just trying to put the pieces together," she excused herself and Elijah told her that there is no problem, but he never visited while she was there, just after she was moved.

From El Paso they flew to Odessa. Elijah wanted Damon to listen to some oil men try to talk them into voting. Damon didn't seem too excited about it.

"I don't think they are important, most of those people don't vote, they don't believe in change," he argued.

"Because no one changed anything for them, even if a lot of times they were promised better working conditions and better technology. Look, people are like sheep, they need to be told what to do. You tell them to vote for you and those that vote would do it."

"You are such a pessimist, Elijah," Damon teased.

"And you are an idealist, what does it matter? I will help you win this with my pessimistic nature while people will like you for your idealistic one."

"I just believe in people, what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing. Hey, next time you talk with the Hispanic people, tell them more about how they should keep their costumes and traditions."

"I did talk about that," Damon mumbled.

"Talk more about it; they are proud of their heritage."

"And they should be, didn't I say that?"

"He did," Elena whispered, but Elijah ignored her completely just like he always did every time she would say something. Did he believe she was just a stupid pretty girl? Maybe Katherine had been. She had so many questions about Katherine's past. What kind of education she had, what happened to all her family, why didn't she have any friends and why would she want to kill Damon?

"If they want to be citizens of this country and be part of the society, they need to accommodate here though. Learn the language and this country's culture. It's only fair."

"And I agree with you, but hold that part to yourself until you actually become senator." Elijah took put his usual note-book. "Now about that speech with the oil men," he said flipping through the pages. "One more thing, please make sure you're not late again."

"It happened only once and I explained to you why. Katherine and I wanted to talk to Anna. It took a while to make the connection and then mom and dad wanted to know everything."

"Yeah well, don't do it again," he mumbled.

"I agree, it doesn't look good when you're late," Stefan said taking Elijah's side. Elena wondered if he would be acting the same way if he knew his daughter was after him. Damon trusted his friend to do the right thing, but Elena was not going to trust Elijah that easily. She didn't know Damon's best friend, but she knew men and when it came to young women ready to seduce them, they were all the same.

"I'll do my best," Damon said on an annoyed tone. Elena could sense him lose his patience.

"Oh and that tie, take it off," Elijah said and Damon raised an eyebrow at him.

"He can take mine," Stefan offered.

"No, yours it's not much better, I'll give him mine."

"I'll keep my own tie and if you guys don't like it, you can both go to hell. Now leave me alone," he snapped. He let himself fall on the comfortable arm chair of the private plane and closed his eyes. Elena loved and envied his ability to fall asleep in seconds and pretty much anywhere. She adored watching him sleep and she often did so on the nights she was too excited, preoccupied or frustrated to sleep. Even since the night they almost slept together they were avoiding each other even more. It wasn't easy considering the fact that they would often share a tiny room and an even smaller bathroom. They were both doing extraordinary things to make sure they won't see each other without clothes on. It was ridiculous, if they were touching, sparks were visible between them because of the build-up frustration.

"I suggest you do something about that," Stefan said looking at Elena.

"About his tie?"

"No, not about his fucking tie, about his mood. You got him in this mod, you get him out of it and I think we both know what you have to do," he said. Elena could not believe her ears. Was Stefan telling her to sleep with Damon to release the tension?

When they got out of the plane, Elena made sure she had a smile on her face, but her smile dropped once she saw a tall man in his late forties wearing a white shirt and a big, brown cowboy hat. She was sure she had seen him in the crown on every place Damon and the other had been. Also, the man seemed to be hiding in the crown, which was not easy considering the fact that he was pretty tall.

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><p><strong>N: Please review!<strong>


	26. Chapter 26

**N: I know this is really shot, but please bear with me. School and work are kicking my posterior, leaving me with no real time for writing. **

**This is not beta-ed, all the mistakes are mine and I apologise for them.**

**Hope you still like that tiny chapter and you'll leave me a review to let me know.**

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><p><strong>King-size<strong>

_Only one king-size bed in the room_. That was all Damon had been able to think about for the last five hours. Even since they arrived at the hotel and he noticed that unlike the other places they had been, this one had just one room and one bed, he stopped thinking about anything else but that. He was standing in front of hundreds maybe thousands of people talking about sex equality in the work field and women's rights, but all he wanted was a room with two beds.

He wondered if he'd be able to keep his hands off of her. Just about everything his wife was doing lately was a big turn on for Damon. Whatever she was putting on make-up, getting dressed or simply brushing her smooth straight hair, he would gaze at her, impossible to make out what was so fascinating to have him staring. He'd always been able to admit her beauty, but this time…this time was not just the way she looked that got him mesmerized. It was the way she moved, the way she talked, especially the way she smiled.

"Thank you very much and I will be expecting your support in November," Damon concluded. He descended the small stage surrounded by ovations and applause. It took Elijah and other two security guys about twenty minutes to get him and Elena out of the adoring crowd. When they finally arrived at the small rented car, Damon took off his blazer and threw it in the backseat.

"You have to go now if you want to make it at the assembly plant on time," Elijah pointed out seeing that Damon was taking his time. "Do you still have the address?" he asked and Damon took out a piece of paper from his pocket.

"Yes, it's right here."

"Good, you can't miss the building; it's yellow, with small windows. It will be on your left. Katherine," he turned to face Elena. "I'll call you a cab then I'll be taking a call in the office and I'll join you and Stefan as soon as I'm done."

"No need for a cab Elijah, I'll go with Damon," Elena said and before Elijah had time to react, she snuck in the passenger seat of the car.

"Katherine it's a worker's union not a tea party, you won't fit in," Elijah protested.

"It's ok, Elijah she can come with me."

"But I –"

"If Damon want's me there, I'll go," Elena snapped interrupting Elijah before he got the chance to even begin his sentence.

Damon bit his tongue to keep from telling Katherine that there were many other places he would rather have her than a dirty factory full of sweaty workers.

By the time Damon got into the driver seat Elena took off her pale yellow jacket, which left her in her matching camisole. Damon new that underneath that camisole she was wearing a champagne colored lacy bra and in the cups of her bra there were her firm, full breasts. He picked through the door as she was getting dressed in the small bathroom back at the hotel. Before her accident, Katherine had no problem exposing herself to him as often as possible and in the boldest way, but that was no longer the case. She was only changing either in another room or using the bathroom, far away from his priding eyes. It was driving Damon insane. He didn't remember ever wanting to see her change in front of him more than he wanted it at this moment. He wanted to look at her as she took off those silky clothes. Who was he kidding? He wanted her period.

"You did a great job, Damon. You kept it real and I know they will appreciate that. Of course, your particular charm helped too. They were eating your words; especially the blonde girl in that pale pink dress. What color were her panties?"

"She wasn't wearing any," he fired.

Elena's teasing smile disappeared in an instant. She felt as if he slapped her. Damon could tell his direct words had wounded her, but he couldn't help it, the words just slipped off his tongue. A part of him just wanted to make her feel just as miserable as he was.

"Did you notice that I avoided the abortion issue?"

"No."

"I didn't know what to say. Maybe you should've been the one up there explaining it to them," he said. His words, could, merciless, meant to hurt her.

"I told you I'm sorry, I wasn't in my right mind, ok. What do you want from me? What is this really about?" she snapped. Elena felt as if Damon was doing his best to hurt her, but she couldn't quite put a finger on 'why', and she wanted to know so she could try to fix it. Just like she was trying to fix everything his wife messed up in his life.

Damon took a deep breath. 'Because if the damn king-size bed waiting for us in the hotel room. Because I have to remind myself of everything you did wrong, of every amount of pain you caused me and my daughter, so that maybe, just maybe, I wouldn't want you this much' Damon answered if his head. by the time he came up with a plausible lie, they arrived at their destination and a delegation was already there expecting them.

"Put your jacket on, your nipples are showing? Or are you doing that on purpose? Get a little attention from the workers."

"Go to hell," Elena whispered with a smile as she put on her jacket, just like she intended to.

***Lucky***

Despite every argument he had against her, Damon had to give her credit for recovering from their fight the way she did. She wasn't acting like a spoiled girl the way she used to. She was campaigning along with him, shaking even the dirtiest hands and greeting every worker with a warm smile and kind words. Elijah had been right, she was definitely not fitting in, but that didn't stop her, nor did the heat or the thick smell of motors and sweat. People were talking to her and she as listening intently, answering their questions as best and honest as she was capable of. She was also the first by his side when something struck him and he went down.


	27. Chapter 27

**N: I know this is like…ssssuuupppeeerrr short, but I wanted you guys to know what happened with Damon. No cliff-hanger this time. Hope you'll enjoy the mini chapter and leave me a thought or two.**

**Not proof-red, excuse the mistakes *smiles shyly*******

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><p>Bloody hands<p>

Elena positioned Damon's head on her breasts. Warm, thick blood was soaking her thin blouse, but not only she did not notice, but she wouldn't even care even if she would've. All she could think about was that it had all been in vain. She did everything she could to stay as close to Damon as possible, she had paid attention not only to those in his family, but everyone coming close to him, and still she wasn't able to prevent it. Her deepest and most somber nightmare had come true. Someone finally made a move. Damon was hurt, in her arms and there wasn't anything she could do. It was too late. She had failed to protect him.

"Damon! Damon! Please…" she prayed, she prayed he will open his breathtaking eyes so she'd know he was okay. "Stefan, call an ambulance!" she yelled. She started screaming, giving everyone order, to fetch water, to give him more space or call for help. Her heart was beating its way out of her chest. She was so scared that she had lost him that she could barely see clear or think of anything but her desire to see him open his eyes and tell her everything will be okay.

"I'm fine." Damon struggled to pull himself in a sitting position so he'll be able to stand.

"What the hell just happened?" Elijah asked once he finally made his way towards the crowed and reached Damon and Elena. "Damon?"

"Elijah, give me a handkerchief." Elijah's eyes opened wide at the sight of blood. "I am okay, now please just hand me a damn handkerchief, I'm bleeding on my wife."

"Only you could joke in a time like this," Elijah commented, handing him the requested object.

"Someone has to."

"They're calling an ambulance, should be here soon."

"I don't need one. Please make sure no one is calling for one, there are people out there who actually need it." He was doing his best to clean his wound, but failing at the task since he couldn't precisely see where it was. "Something hit me," he mumbled as Elena managed to sneak the handkerchief from his hand. The water she asked for earlier was there so she used some to clean his forehead. She couldn't even begin to explain the relief that took over her. Damon was fine. He was hurt, but he nothing too serious had happened to him.

Damon pointed at a broken piece of glass – what looked more like the thick bottom of a bottle. "Did you see him?"

"What?" Damon asked confused, twitching as Elena applied some pressure to get the blood out of the way and make sure the cut was not too deep.

"The person that threw that."

"No, I didn't." He pushed Elena's hand aside. "Now let that go and help me up," he ordered.

"I am not sure that's the best idea, Damon. Just wait a few minutes," Elena urged. "What it you have a concussion?"

"I promise you, I am alright," he said squeezing her hand slightly. All the bittiness between them had evaporated. He was no longer teasing her, but comforting her. She guessed he could tell she was terrified for him. "Now, please just help me get off my ass, it's embarrassing," he said smiling at Elena and the only thing she could do was smile back. She had decided long ago that his smile, particularly when he meant it to be charming, was something that should not be legal. It was like a drug, making everyone agree with him, no matter how strong and how many arguments one might have against it.

Elijah helped Damon up and he recovered immediately. Elena just helped herself off the dirty floor. She didn't bother attempting to arranger herself, she knew there was no hope. Her blouse was all covered in blood and her skirt was dirty from the floor. Her hair must've been a mess, because she remembered running her hard through it countless times. She suspected, and a look at her hands confirmed it that they were dirty, dust and blood covering her perfect manicure, and still shaking. There wasn't anything she could do, not there, in the middle of the cowed in a factory. But she took her place by Damon side; that was where she belonged. In the meantime the police came. The attackers had been caught and taken into custody.

"They were three of them, by now they should be at the police station. Apparently there are people who do not like you Mr. Charm," Elijah teased. "Let's go."

"Go? I'm not going anywhere just because a bunch of delinquents tried to knock me out with a piece of glass. I came here to talk to this people and ask for their votes and that is exactly what I will do."

"We can do it another time."

"We're here now." With that he turned around and started shaking hands, talking to people, smile and do just what he had been there to do, ask for people's votes.

Elena's heart broke a little. That was what she adored the most about him, his sincerity and determination, but she couldn't help the feeling that she had just lost a battle. She came _this_ close to lose him and she had just realized how vulnerable Damon actually was and how little she could actually do to protect him. There were so many people in the crowed, if someone really wanted to kill Damon tonight, they could have done it and there was nothing Elena could've done to prevent it.


	28. Chapter 28

**N: Hey guys, a new chapter's here. I am sorry that I can't give you longer chapters, but I barely have time to write short ones. If I were to write them longer, you'll have to wait a very long time. **

**It's not beta-ed so all the mistakes are mine.**

**Hope you'll enjoy and leave a review. The next chapter will be really interesting for Elena and we'll have some Stefan-Damon time going on.**

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><p><strong>Shadows<strong>

Only after Damon made sure he saw and talked to everyone at the meeting, he finally allowed Elijah and Elena to drive him to the emergency room. A way too young and way too beautiful doctor – in Elena's opinion – urged Damon through a pair of long, white doors and one of the nurses stopped Elena from following. She protested, telling her that she was his wife and she just had to be there, but the old nurse would have none of it. She probably had people like her in there all the time. Even though Elena knew she was just doing her job, in that moment she hated the nurse.

They waited for what seemed like hours for Elena, but in reality just about a half an hour had passed before Damon returned. A white patch was covering the wound, adding to his dashing looks rather than taking his charm away. He looked like one of those knights, accepting his duty and owning the wounds that made him stronger not weaker. Even though he acted brave, joking about his wound with everyone, when the old nurse handed him a painkiller, he accepted it without a second thought.

While Damon had been in the doctor's office to prescribe him some more pills to help him with the pain, Elena decided it would be best to call Damon's parents. On the news reporters tended to exaggerate and Elena knew that way too well. They were better off hearing about the accident from her, the way it actually happened. Like any parents, they insisted on talking to their son and Stefan had been the only one capable of keeping them calm until Damon came out of the doctor's office.

A bunch of reporters were waiting outside when they came out. "Let them take a picture of your blood-stained blouse," Elijah whispered in Elena's ear.

"You're sick."

"No, I'm just trying to turn a bad situation in our advantage. Believe me, it would make you look good too," he said, but Elena was way too tired and overwhelmed to make a comeback. After all, it was too late, the crowed was packed with cameras and reporters, and they most certainly got plenty of pictures of her stained clothes.

When they arrived at the hotel, Elena made it very clear that Damon will just relax and get his sleep without anyone disturbing him. Of course, both Stefan and Elijah protested, telling her that Damon needed to work on a statement. They said that after the accident, everyone would want to know what the candidate they might vote for is thinking. They were right of course and she knew that there was nothing that could stop the press from getting what they wanted, but another glance at Damon confirmed it. He needed to rest for the time being.

"I'm sure you'll be able to write the perfect statement with what Damon gave you. He doesn't want to press charges against the man that threw the bottle and he doesn't blame the factory or the organisation for what happen." With that said, she followed Damon in the elevator and into the hotel room.

The pill the doctor had given him at the hospital had kicked in and he was feeling light headed and sleepy. He changed his clothes, brushed his teeth and by the time Elena did the same, he was already fast asleep. When he woke up six hours later, Elena was not beside him. He maneuvered himself into a sitting position and that's when the shower noise stopped. His wife came out of the bathroom about ten minutes later, covered in a fluffy, white robe.

"All ready for you," she said. Damon wanted to take his time, stay there and watch her apply cream all over her body, watch her slip a pair of silky underwear on, but instead he practically ran in the bathroom like a coward.

When Damon finally came out of the bathroom, Elena was already dressed. She was doing her hair so when she heard the door she placed the brush on the small table and turned around. She gasped audible at the sight of him wearing only a long white towel around his waist and nothing more. His hair was still wet and he was freshly shaved.

"Uh…I tried changing it myself, but I seem to be rather clumsy," he mumbled shyly. It took Elena about two minutes to start processing what he said and realize that he was asking her to replace his patch. "Do you mind?" he asked seeing that she wasn't saying anything.

"No, no…I mean, sure, just take a seat on the bed," she said, making her way towards him. Damon did as told, handing her the tiny scissors, the cream and the white bandage. "Hold this," Elena handed Damon the tiny tube of cream after she put some over his wound. She cut a square piece from the bandage and handed Damon the rest along with the scissors. After she was done, Elena took a step back to admire her handy work. When she turned around, Damon hand grabbed hers, forcing her towards him. He stood up, tall in front of her. "Thank you," he whispered and kissed the palm of her hand.

"You…you're welcome," Elena murmured in response, she didn't trust her voce to speak louder. He let go of her hand, but Elena was left with a tangling sensation in the place his lips touched her skin. Putting on make-up turned out to be a challenge since her hands were slight trembling. After three failed attempts, she decided against the eyeliner and chose a darker color instead. She had just finished with the last touches when Damon decided to pull her out of her bubble.

"This dress looks beautiful on you," he said and Elena blushed slightly. She put on her earrings before standing up. Once she turned around, she noticed that Damon was dressed. He was wearing a classic, black tuxedo, but the simplicity of the outfit did not make him look less God-like.

"Thank you."

"I'm sorry about yesterday, I know I said some pretty hurtful things to you –"

"Yes, you did," she interrupted him.

"A part of it was because –" this time it was the knock on the door that interrupted Damon.

"It's seven thirty," Elijah yelled through the door. Frustrated, Elena just grabbed her purse from the table and made her way towards the door. Without a word Damon followed.

In the car Damon moaned every time the car would pass a bumpy road. "Take another pill, Damon," Elena said reaching in her purse, but Damon stopped her.

"No, I need to have my head clear for this," he said. They were having dinner with some very important political figures at a well-known ranch outside the town. Elena understood that he wanted to have a clear mind, but she hated seeing him in pain.

When they arrived there, for the first half an hour Elena was preoccupied appreciating the surroundings. It was a beautiful day, the sun coming up to shine upon the hills. They had been shown around by some sort of guide. Later they went onto a large room, where everyone had to find their name tag on the table in order to take a seat.

"Are you ok?" Damon asked concerned. Elena put up one of the best fake smiles and told him she was fine. "You barely touched your food," he observed.

The truth was that she was concerned. After their tour, they met the crowed and Elena spotted the tall man she'd seen before quite a few times. Her nerves were just about the limit. Damon had already been hurt while she was there, next time it could be a bullet that would kill him. She was going out of her mind with concern.

"I just need the use the bathroom," she said standing up and Damon followed. He only took a seat after she went out of his sight.

Elena splashed some could water on her face and used a pepper towel to dry it. She applied a fresh coat of lipstick and got out of the tiny room. On her way up, she looked outside, but the man was no longer there, maybe it was just her paranoia after what had happened with Damon the other day. She smiled, trying to calm herself. Just before she got the chance to turn around, she heard a soft, masculine voice in coming from behind her.

"Hello, Elena."


	29. Chapter 29

**N: I know this is super short, but I wanted to have the DE convo in the same chapter.**

**As usual, this is not beta-ed so all the mistakes are mine and I am truly sorry about this. Hope you'll enjoy the horribly short chapter and leave me a review to let me know what you think.**

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><p><strong>Fire and smoke<strong>

Elena was walking fast towards the brightly illuminated McDonald's across the street. She looked around and her attention was captured by two girls sitting just in the dark corner or the restaurant. One of them was smoking – what Elena thought was not a normal cigarette. The other girl looked no older than seventeen and Elena felt chills down her spine.

Right before she reached the door, one of the girls yelled at her, "Hey, you! Keep your skinny ass out of here or I'll kill you!" Elena chose to ignore the girl and she focused of opening the heavy door. She spotted Jeremy as soon as she walked in. Her anger was growing as she was advancing towards him. By the time she was by his side, her cheeks were red, she felt like strangling her friend and hug him at the same time.

"Outside, now!" she ordered and Jeremy smiled. He took his sweet time to gather his things from the tiny, round table and they made their way outside.

"What the hell were you thinking making me meet you here at this time of night?" she asked,

"Someone's not happy to see a good friend." Jeremy lit out a joint, offering her some.

"Jeremy you don't understand. It's past midnight and I'm not in the room, if Damon finds out –"

"You mean the man that thinks you are his wife? Or does he know who you are?"

"No he doesn't and he must not know; you don't understand…"

"I'm all ears."

"Not here, not now. It's a long story and I must go back to the hotel. It's about Damon's life, stay out of it Jeremy it's dangerous," Elena whispered hoping that her ex colleague will understand.

"When did you decide to do it?"

"At the hospital. They have mistaken me for Katherine Salvatore. At first I wasn't able to tell them since I had bandages all over my face and I couldn't speak."

"And what you were able to talk why did you keep quiet?"

"I told you I don't have time to explain this to you Jer. Just ask Alaric."

"That old bastard knows?"

"Not since long, maybe a few weeks. I had to tell someone."

"So that's why he's been covering Damon Salvatore like crazy and he has Tyler and I follow the two of you everywhere. He wanted me to keep an eye on you."

"I guess." Elena moved a little, coming face to face with Jeremy.

"Jer, how did you know it was me?"

"Well," he started. He let out the smoke from his joint. "It is the way you behaved in front of the camera. The way you tucked your hair behind your ear and the way you bit your bottom lip. I suspected it even from the first time I filmed you as you just got out of the hospital."

"It was a shock seeing you there and at the ranch."

"After seeing you at the Salvatore's I was almost sure it was you. I noticed there was something different in the way Mrs. Katherine Salvatore was acting. I only filmed her once, about three years ago, but I remembered that she had no clue what to do, you did. You knew how to pose, you took my directions like a pro and even the mistakes you did seemed controlled, intentional."

"I should've known you'd figure it out, after all you are the best at what you do."

"Flattery won't help you now Elena. I still want an explanation for –"

"Oh God!"

"What?" he asked seeing Elena's worried face. He turned around subtly, expecting to see Damon Salvatore or anyone from his family walking towards them, but what he saw was a cop.

***Lucky13***

Damon knocked on his brother's door twice before he finally answered. "You summon me here and then you make me wait in front of the door? That's not very nice of you Steffie."

"Wha, relax would you. I was in the bathroom. Why are you in such a bad mood?"

"I am not in a bad mood." He just didn't want to be there. The only place he wanted to be was in his room talking to his wife. She had been acting strange all day. During dinner she asked him about a man in the crowd with white hair – someone from her past he guessed. Whoever that guy was must've talked to her when she went to the bathroom because when she got back her face was white, her hands were shaking and she wouldn't stop looking around and biting her bottom lip. Something or better said someone scared his wife and he wanted to know about it. He didn't care about anything his brother might say, he was sure it had something to do with the campaign and in this particular moment Damon wasn't interested in that. The only reason Damon said "ok" when his brother told him he needed to talk to him was for the slight possibility that it wasn't about the campaign and if his brother needed him, he had to be there. "I am just tired Stefan," he finally finished his sentence.

Stefan walked towards the chair that was near the bathroom and pulled a white envelope out of his inside pocked. He looked at it for a second and then just handed it to Damon.

"Who gave you this?" Damon asked after he read the note hiding inside the envelope Stefan gave him.

"The brunette waitress; the one who had been very attentive to you through the whole dinner time."

"Why did she hand this to you?"

"Would you had have preferred she gave it to you or to your wife?"

"Preferred? What the hell Stefan?"

"Look, it might me good for you to accept her invitation."

"Aren't you forgetting something? I am married, Stefan!"

"Only in theory. Don't be mad Damon. I just know that whatever is going on between Katherine and you is not what it should be. I know that for any man, even you, it would be heard to function at full capacity when his dick isn't happy."

"Speaking from experience?" Stefan stopped talking and took a step back. "Sorry, that was too much. It's just that…everyone's into my business lately and it's starting to get frustrating."

"I understand."

"No you don't. Look Stefan, I really appreciate what you and Elijah are trying to do, but no matter how sexually frustrated I am, I won't do that. I am not going to cheat on my wife."

"Always the loyal one. I have always admired that in you," Stefan said as he poured himself a drink. "Maybe she'd settle for second best, do you mind?" Stefan asked taking the envelope from the desk.

"Have at it," Damon said making his way towards the door. "Good night, little brother."

"Good night, Damon."

Damon opened the door to his room and called his wife's name even before turning on the lights. "Katherine?" he got no answer. After trying a few more times and made his way through the room, he realized that his wife wasn't there.

***Lucky13***

"For the name of God Jer, put that out," Elena begged referring to Jeremy's cigarette. To her release, he let the cigarette fall between them and crushed it with his foot. As the policeman stopped to make some room in front of the entrance at McDonald's, Elena waved her hand, letting Jeremy know she wanted them to go. They took the corned and headed towards the hotel.

"Jer, you have to promise not to reveal my true identity to anyone. It's really important."

"Klaus would probably pay a fortune for this information," he said and Elena stopped abruptly.

"You can't…" she mumbled.

"Chill, Elena, you're turning colors."

"Chill? Jeremy this is not a joke."

"I won't tell anyone, but I'll need a way better explanation than what you gave me."

"I know and I will explain, I promise, just not now. It was great seeing you Jer. I would totally hug you right now, but –"

"Undercover mission and all, I get it. If you need help, just yell loud enough I'll be near."

"Thanks."

After they said their good byes, they went in opposite directions. Just after she crossed the street towards the hotel she looked up. Damon was standing in front of the door looking at her like she had just murdered someone.


	30. Chapter 30

**N: And another short chapter coming your way…sorry about that, in my defence it does contain something you've all waited for, for so long. As usual, not beta-ed, all the mistakes belong to me and me only.**

**Last night episode left a bitter taste in my mouth…not happy with this season at all.**

**Please don't forget to leave me a review if you liked.**

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><p><strong>Deal with it!<strong>

By the way Damon was looking at her Elena knew she was in trouble. Once she arrived in front of the building, the doorman welcomed her with a bright smile. She returned the favour, making her way towards Damon.

"Here she is Mr. Salvatore. I told you she'll be back soon," he said cheerfully and Damon nodded and smiled, but Elena knew it was a very fake smile and that underneath, he was boiling. A part of her understood him and his reaction, but still, she was not Katherine and Elena Gilbert was not accustomed to someone like Damon. He was always watching her, expecting her to do something wrong any minute and Elena could feel the pressure. Not because she might make one of Katherine's mistakes, but she was scared that Damon might notice something he didn't notice before.

"You got me worried, Katherine," Damon said sweetly – too sweetly. He grabbed her hand and only Elena knew the force of his fingers pushing into her skin. To an outsider, they just looked like an ordinary couple. The worried husband, relived his beloved was safe and sound. But they were no ordinary couple, Elena knew better. They walked – or more like he dragged her – towards the elevators. Damon didn't say a word; he didn't even look at her. Once inside the big box, Elena was grateful for the young couple that joined them. She knew that if they would've been alone, Damon would've started asking questions and she was not ready for that. She craved those extra minute before they reached their destination.

When they finally arrived in their hotel room and the door closed behind Damon, Elena's pulse accelerated. She thought she would be more prepared once they arrive inside the room, but she didn't feel ready at all. Damon's eyes were as intimidating as always and that did not help. He was mad and she knew it.

"Where the hell have you been?" Damon asked. His voice was calm and collected even if his words were harsh and that scared Elena even more.

"I went to the McDonald around the corner. I didn't eat much at dinner so I thought I'll grab something to eat while you talk to your brother."

"Who was that guy?"

Elena was debating whatever she should play dumb or not. It didn't seem like a good idea since he obviously saw her with Jeremy. Maybe she could tell him he was a stranger asking for indications or something. Of course, that would've worked, except she had no idea how much Damon saw. She knew there was no way he heard her, but he saw her talk with him.

"Was he a drug dealer?"

She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. "Was he a drug dealer, Katherine?" he asked again, but didn't wait for her answer. "I know you used to smoke with Rebekah, but I never thought you'll go out in plain sight to buy it. May I remind you that I am a public figure, Katherine? If anyone saw you buying dr –"

"Stop." Elena surprised herself by yelling at him. "He was not a drug dealer. Would you stop saying that? That was Jeremy Lovejoy. The one that filmed the commercial at the house, remember?" She never thought that the truth was the answer, but after it came out of her mouth, she realized it was the best way to deal with the situation. Jeremy had been at the ranch to film the commercial after all, so this time she played it close to the truth.

Elena took a few steps back, turned around and started removing her jewellery, dropping them on the desk. At the moment she felt in much need to do something with her hands and that was all that she could find fitting to do.

"What were you doing with him?"

"Walking. Geez, Damon what's the big deal. I met him at McDonald and after he schooled me about being by myself at night he offered to walk me to the hotel."

"He has a point."

"I was hungry and you were busy, as you always are. If it's not Stefan that wants something from you it's Elijah. There's always something. I know how long your discussions can last I just wanted something to eat."

"There is room-service."

"I wanted some air."

"For Christ's sake, open a window next time. What was with you today?"

So he did notice. She wasn't sure he was paying attention to her all day, he seemed quite distant. She should've known better, he was always looking after her and he had that annoying ability to read her when she was upset, angry or scared.

"Nothing."

"There was something, Kat. Don't lie to me. You'd been on edge all day. What have you done this time?"

"Why do you always assume I've done something?"

"Because…" Damon stopped for a few seconds. "Because it's you," he finished.

"I wasn't out to buy weed and I wasn't having a secret rendezvous, what do you want from me, Damon?"

"I want you to not go out in the middle of the night all alone."

"Alone," Elena laughed. "Damon, we are never alone."

"We are now," he mumbled. That was the moment they both realized they were standing face to face in the middle of the room. Their rapid panting made their chests almost touch. Damon didn't lose any time; he closed his arms around her middle, placing them on the small of her back, pulling her against him with such a force that Elena's breath stopped for a second. His lips fell on hers and Elena's feet turned into jelly from desire.

Damon walked her backward until her back hit the wall and used his hands to pin her there. He didn't know that she would never run. She belonged to him and she would do anything for him. It was enough for him to look at her in a certain way and she would explode with desire for him.

Every stroke of his tongue was pushing Elena closer and closer to her climax. He was rubbing her body shamelessly against him, needing more. A growl escaped her through as she felt his erection against her core. Their kiss was carnal and primal, exposing their build up desire. Elena's fingers were digging into his biceps. With trembling hands she unbuttoned his shirt and pushed it over his shoulders. Her ager mouth found his collarbone and started sliding lower towards the middle of his bare chest making Damon moan softly.

In a fast movement, he turned Elena around, forcing her to face the wall. He found the zipper of her dress and pulled it down, kissing the back of her neck at the same time. Once the dress fell at her feet, Elena's mind came back to reality. _He will know_. She thought. He will look at her and he will know she wasn't Katherine. But that didn't happen because Damon was no longer using his sight, but only his touch. His eyes were close and his mouth was gliding all over her neck and shoulders. When he turned her back to face him, he knocked over a few cards and papers from the desk but he didn't seem to care.

That was it. That was the moment she had been waiting for, the moment when Damon will need her. And he needed her now, she could tell, by the way he way holding her and touching her and kissing every inch of her body.

"Bed," he mumbled, but Elena's mind was taking its time to realize what he meant. "You are my wife, I'm not going to fuck you against a wall," he explained.

_But, why not?_ Elena thought. She couldn't believe that her: Elena Gilbert was perfectly fine with being "fucked" against the wall. To her release Damon turned off the lights before picking her up and walking towards the bed. He placed her naked body gently on the mattress and pulled back just for a minute to take off his jeans. Elena swallowed loudly, taking in deep breaths in a failed attempt to calm herself.

When Damon finally let his body cover hers, Elena was more than ready to receive him. He buried his nose in her hair and nuzzled her ear and neck. Palming her breasts, he lifted them, passing his thumbs over her erect nipples. Elena's body was responding to his every touch, like it had always belonged to him and him only.

"Damon," she cried out his name when he started sucking on one of her rigid peaks.

"Hush," he pressed his index finger over her lips, making Elena hold in another needy moan. His hands were traveling all over her body, touching, feeling, pushing, and working his magic on her. It felt surreal to be in his arms.

Slowly, he buried himself inside her humid satin and Elena thought she might disappear or liquefy from the many sensations taking over her body. It felt so good having him inside of her that she wished he would never stop.

After a few in and out movements, Damon was done. He pulled out, rolled on his side of the bed and turned around. That was it, no words, no good-night-kiss, nothing. He just turned his back on her like nothing had happened. Elena just did the same. She buried her face in the pillow allowing the material to absorb her tears.


	31. Chapter 31

**N: After you all felt bad for Elena last chapter, I decided to give you this little chapter before moving on to more drama. Another un-beta-ed chapter, so I must apologize for the mistakes. **

**Please enjoy and don't forget to review once you get to the bottom of the page.**

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><p><strong>And still they feel<strong>

Elena only cried for a few minutes before she realized that she didn't understand why she felt hurt or where she was hurting. She could hear Damon's breath, still a little unstable. When the mattress showed signs of movement, Elena thought Damon went even further away, but to her surprise she felt his warm hand on the curve of her waist. She then realized he had actually turned back towards her. He applied a bit of pressure, enough to bring her on her back once more. By then her tears had dried so she dared look at him. He was so beautiful and looked so broken, Elena felt like crying again.

"I have always considered myself an honest man," he whispered. His fingertips caressed her face softly. A shiver went through Elena's body from the unexpected, affectionate touch. His touch was soft, letting his fingers linger on her soft skin. Elena felt like screaming, slapping him, crying or just yell at him that all she'd wanted was to love him. She just wanted him to allow her the honor of loving him. Filled with emotions she couldn't vocalize, Elena just starched her hand and cupped his cheek. She passed her fingers over his small bandage, moving lower on his lips. He was watching her without moving, waiting patiently for her next move.

Once she stopped caressing him and retrieved her hand, Damon lowered his head and pressed his lips on her cheeks. She closed her eyes and her mouth opened. He took advantage and kissed each of her eyelids, her nose and the corner of her mouth. His lips were burning against her flesh and she could already feel the – now familiar – moisture between her thighs. When his lips finally reached hers, Elena let out a soft moan, surrendering herself to him.

"I want you again," he murmured.

His first kiss was delicate, a barely there touch. He pulled back and looked at her with those burning blue-gray eyes, breaking her heart, because she knew just how broken he was inside. He brushed her long, straight hair off her neck and shoulders, just so his ager fingers could explore the area.

The second time his lips came in contact with hers Damon applied more pressure. This time his kiss had purpose, meaning and Elena could feel it. Her lips parented and Damon's tongue slipped inside, ardent to please. His hands lost no time and soon they were all over her body. When his left hand closed over her breast, his lips left hers to kiss her jaw, neck and shoulders. As his mouth found her chest, he started licking and sucking, his wet tongue giving Elena a tingling sensation in her breasts.

Lost to his touch, Elena just buried her fingers in Damon's hair, holding on tight as his mouth was going lower and lower. Once he got to her flat abdomen, he let a finger inside her folds. If the light would've been on, Damon would've seen Elena blush like a tomato. She wasn't used to being so wet for a man. No one had ever made her feel the way Damon was making her feel. She felt completely in lust for him. Her pulse was throbbing in places she never knew she could feel it. She didn't have much experience. There had only been three other guys before and what she felt for them didn't even come close to what she felt for Damon.

Damon's playful tongue found the tiny nubbin between her lower lips and pushed against it making Elena's body levitate from the mattress. To stop her legs from trembling, she bent them, bringing her knees up and closer to her upper body.

"Don't hold back," Damon mumbled on a husky voice Elena barely recognized. "I want to feel it as you let go," he went on and her body started shaking slightly.

He went on, adding a second finger inside, pumping them in and out of her as his tongue was shamelessly stroking her bundle of nerves. A few minutes later, when a powerful orgasm ripped through her, Elena chanted his name over and over again.

"Stay still," Damon ordered. Elena didn't realize she was moving, until she made the effort to stop. Her body was convulsing in waves of pleasure and her hips were reaching up in search for him. "I want to be inside you," Damon said, finally giving voice to his deepest fears. "Now," he continued surprised of the need in his voice. The need for her shocked him, he hadn't expected to ever again want to sleep with her, but here he was, craving her, like a recovering heroin addict. He swore to himself he would never fall for her tricks. But then again, the woman in his arms had nothing to do with the Katherine he knew. The woman in his arms was docile, warm, and submissive even. He was not used to this Katherine, but he decided he liked her like that. In the beginning of their relationship he liked the way she took control. There weren't many women that could dominate Damon Salvatore in bed; Katherine had been one of the few that could. The sex – he remembered – had always been good, but Damon didn't recall ever being this intense. At this moment, he was so lost in his awe for her. She was making him question everything he knew about her. Definitely, he was not expected this type of devotion from her. A long time ago, he got used to the idea that Katherine Pierce did not have this type of surrender and affection in her. It seemed that he'd been wrong. He'd wanted her for so long and now that he finally let himself have her, he was in heaven.

Elena took her legs further apart, allowing Damon to settle in between. The anticipation made her palms sweat and once she could feel the tip of his erection pocking at her entrance, her breath became chaotic.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Damon murmured close to her ear as he pushed his hardness inside her. But that was not the reason her heart picked up pace. It was because she loved him and she want to give herself to him in ways she hasn't given herself to anyone. She wanted to feel him close and welcome the slight pain of having his rigid dick inside. He was big and she was tight, but she knew that after a second of pain came the part that made it all worth it.

Once all the way in, Damon stopped. He turned his face into her neck and started nibbling on it, biting it softly and Elena's soft moans turned into lowed growls. Damon started slowly rocking back and forward, enjoying the way Elena's hips levitate to meet his thrusts. Supporting himself in one hand, Damon used the free one to place Elena's right leg on his shoulder, pushing into her even deeper.

Elena was grateful to her cheerleading college years and yoga classes three times a week. Thanks to that, her leg was comfortably resting on Damon's shoulder. His hand was continually caressing her thigh, making her skin tingle.

A few strokes later, Damon followed her into oblivion. He pulled out of her slowly and this time around he didn't turn his back on her. Elena didn't dare to move. She just stretched her legs and stood still, waiting for Damon's reaction. She didn't know what to expect or what she shouldn't expect. She was wondering if she should say something, but decided against it. What was there to say after all?

"I don't understand…" Damon mumbled. Elena wasn't sure if he was talking to her or to himself, but she went on and asked him what was that he didn't understand. "You," he answered. "It's just not possible."

Damon passed his hand through his hair. Everything about Katherine was different. Her body felt different, and it wasn't just because she had lost some weight. It wasn't the fact that her breasts were now perfectly fitting into his hands. It was something that he couldn't put his finger on. Her body…the way she responded to his every touch…he closed his eyes and it was as if he was with another woman. All he wanted to do at the moment was hold her in his arms and let his fingers lazily travel over her heated satin skin, but he was too afraid to show her any type of affection. Every time he showed signs of affection and care over the past few years, she changed. As if she mocked him for being sensitive; mocked his love for her, and he was not ready for that.

"Nothing. I am sorry, I guess I am just tired and I started talking to myself," he said, letting Elena know he was not going to have a pillow-talk with her.

Even though neither of them turned away from each other, their bodies didn't touch until later on when sleep had found them. With no rational thought to keep them apart, they held on to another through the whole night.


	32. Chapter 32

**N: Hey guys, sorry for the wait and for the tiny chapter you are about to read. The show is not helping with the inspiration and I do not have time to write and rewrite. It's not beta-ed so my sincere apologies for the mistakes. **

**Jeremy will be back next chapter, hope you'll enjoy. Don't forget to review as long as you're here.**

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><p><strong>Repercussions<strong>

Elena and Damon were back at the ranch and Elena was practically running towards the conference room. She knew Damon was in a meeting with Elijah and Stefan and some other guys that were running things at the headquarters, but she needed to speak to him. The fact was that she had no idea how he might react. Even since they slept together, they became even more distant instead of coming closer. When they woke up the following morning, they were holding each other, so they slowly pulled away from one another, apologizing, like one touching the other had been some mistake that was made. If they would touch accidently later on, they would both pretend it didn't happen and look away. Useless to say they had been avoiding each other ever since and Elena was tired of it. They were acting like children and she thought it needed to stop.

Taking in a deep breath, Elena knocked on the door and pushed it open without waiting for an answer. "Damon, I need to speak with you for a minute," she said in a determined voice. She couldn't show any hesitation or they would just throw her out of there closing the door in her face. It wasn't like it didn't happen before.

"Katherine, we're in the middle of something," Elijah was the first to say something. She hated the way everyone just jumped at the opportunity to talk in Damon's place. Especially when they would do that every time she wanted to talk to him and him only. It was as if Elijah and Stefan were his shadows, they were always there, ready to jump in and keep Damon away from her.

Damon was just staring at her. She was wearing a beautiful sunny dress that was showing her legs, but covering her cleavage. The dress didn't look trashy like Damon usually found Katherine's dresses. This time, she looked sexy without making it seem like she was trying too much. It was taking Damon all his strength to not think about the night they spent together at the hotel just a week ago. Her body in his arms… it felt so soft, so warm. Her perfume, that was now light and delicate compared to the spicy one she used to wear. When he asked about the change, Katherine told him that her skin was still sensitive and those perfumes were making her itchy. She asked him if she liked those better and he admitted to her that she smelled divine now. His dick twitched in his pants remembering the silk between her legs. She had been so wet for him; he didn't remember ever feeling that way before. It was as if she wanted him more than anything else in the world in that moment. He knew he hurt her at first because she was so tight, but she said nothing, she welcomed the pain and held him tightly with her legs.

"Is there something wrong with Anna?" Damon asked, just then realizing she asked to talk to him.

"No, it's not Anna, she's at still with Pearl shopping."

"Well then, whatever it is I am sure you can deal with it yourself Katherine," Stefan mumbled, getting up from his seat.

Elena felt like slapping Stefan in that moment. Actually, she felt like slapping everyone at the moment, including Damon; maybe Damon the most. She was mad at him. Her bad mood was of course justified, she thought. He just used her to get off and now he was barely talking to her. She felt like an unpaid prostitute. For him it didn't matter, it could've been any other woman that night. What bothered Elena the most was that she had wanted him to want her so badly. She wanted to love him and caress his perfect chest, his well-shaped abdomen, she wanted to explore and kiss every single line and every single grove on his body, but she knew the moment he touched her that he will not allow her that indulgence.

"On a second thought, never mind. I will deal with it myself," she shouted and slammed the door after her.

About five minutes later she was slamming another door, opening it this time. Rebekah was in the middle of her queen size bed with a cigarette between her lips and a magazine in her lap. Elena marched all the way to the stereo and turned it off, getting the blonde's attention.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Rebekah snapped as Elena started to open and close drawers.

"This is mine, these earrings are mine, and this," Elena said taking a belt from the closet. "I thought I would just drop by and pick up my things from your room," Elena said turning towards Rebekah, who was now standing by the edge of the bed.

"I don't know how your things got here. Maybe –"

"Do not insult me, Rebekah. I am not stupid and you must be the worst thief I have ever met. If you would've asked, I would've given you anything you wanted," Elena said and placed the earrings back in the tiny red box.

"Ah, take them! I don't need your fucking pity or your stupid things!" Rebekah shouted.

"I know you don't. All you want is to get caught, to get my attention. Well, you got it, it worked."

"I thing you are losing it Aunt Katherine."

"It's so typical of you Rebekah. You do all these things you know you are not supposed to do just to get your parents' attention –"

"Like going after Elijah."

"Like going after Elijah, yes. He is way too old for you Rebekah."

"You say that just because you want him for yourself."

"You know that's not true."

Rebekah knew Katherine was right. Even since the accident, her Aunt changed. The way she looked at Damon, it was clear to every fool that she loved him. She was coming home at decent hours, she was taking care of the child and trying to be helpful for the campaign. Not once she looked at Elijah or anyone else with those doe brown eyes the way she looked at her husband. Rebekah didn't really take the time to think about what and why exactly her Aunt attitude changed so much, but she knew it changed and even she – who wasn't there most of the time – could tell. Also, Rebekah thought, that Damon was looking at her differently that before the accident. At first it was pity, surprise or just plain confusion, but the more attention she paid, the more the pity turned into admiration and the surprise into appreciation. For a long time, Rebekah could not understand how her Uncle still could love Katherine after everything she did to him, but maybe there was something left to love after all. All that was needed was a life-threatening accident to push that towards the surface.

"So are you going to go tell Uncle Damon about this?" she asked.

"Is that what you want me to do?"

"Hell no!" Rebekah just let herself fall back on the bed. "You know what, do whatever the hell you want and leave me alone."

"Next time you want something from me, Rebekah, just ask. I don't mind if you come to me with anything," Elena said as she slowly walked towards the door. "Be careful with this act so you won't lose yourself in it," she whispered, and then snuck out of the room, going back into hers.


	33. Chapter 33

**N: Sorry for the wait guys. I come with a sort-of-longer chapter and hope you'll forgive me. This chapter is a bit of a step in the right direction, but more drama on the way for the next one, so brace yourselves! Oh and this in not beta, all the mistakes are mine and I am sorry for each and every one of them.**

**Please review! Your words mean a lot to me and thank you for all your amazing comments, they keep me going at times.**

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><p><strong>Not a bright idea<strong>

"Are you insane?" Jeremy exploded. They were in Alaric Saltzman's living room. Elena was seated on the couch, protectively hugging her knees to her chest. "On a second thought, don't answer that."

"Just listen to what she has to say before you start throwing insults at her," Alaric said from the other side of the couch.

"You were in on it?" Jeremy asked and Alaric just nodded. "And you let her go through with this crazy charade?"

"_Let_ wouldn't be the exact term."

"That's why you made me run after the Salvatore family all over the place and stay close to them?"

"I just though…" Alaric passed his hand through his hair letting out a soft sigh. Just then Elena realized just how tired he looked. She wandered if her new found mission had anything to do with that; she guessed it had. "I wanted her to have someone close in case something went wrong and she needed help."

"But there is so much shit that can go wrong," Jeremy almost yelled as she stood up from his chair and started walking around the living room.

"Don't you think I know that? I tried talking her out of it. She is so stubborn –"

"And _she_ is standing right here!" Elena snapped. They were talking about her as if she wasn't there. Elena thought that allowing them to do so for half an hour was more than enough. She wasn't about to sit there and just take all the insults and all the drama they were creating. Yes, what she was doing was not the brightest idea, yes it was dangerous and yes she knew all these things, but she was prepared to assume any risk and fight any battle, because she knew that if anything was to happen to Damon or to Anna she would not be able to live with herself.

"Yes, Jeremy, Ric knew, but he found out just recently. You two should stop trying to change my mind and try to help me instead."

"Does Salvatore suspect anything?"

"No," Elena answered immediately.

"So, let me get this straight. This guy has no clue that the woman he fucking married and the one that's been by his side for the past couple of months are not one and the same?" Jeremy asked sarcastically. "What kind of guy cannot differentiate his wife from another woman?"

"He is not looking for it, I guess. I do look exactly like Katherine now and the two of them had not been intimate in a long time before the accident, so he is not picking on the little things," Elena offered.

"Any new clues on this traitor, or he gave up already?" Alaric asked.

"No such luck. Whoever he is, he is still planning on doing it. I received another note."

"What did it say?" Alaric asked and Elena remembered the white piece of paper with the words: _you slept with him, good job! He is hooked_, written on it. The idea that someone knew what had happened between her and Damon that night was giving her a nauseous feeling. She wondered if Damon had confessed it to the killer, if he had someone else from the family in or he was just close enough to know it himself. After receiving the note, Elena had not been able to sleep properly for days.

"Basically the same thing."

"Still typed, nothing hand written?" he asked and Elena nodded to let him know that the note had been typed in the same way the first one had been.

"Did you bring the tapes Jer?" she asked turning to face the young man who was just carefully listening to their conversation, trying to make sense of it.

"Yeah," Jeremy pulled out a few tapes from a way-too-big plastic bag and handed them to her.

After putting the first tape in the VCR, Elena took her seat back on the couch. "Jer, do you see that man in the yellow sweater?"

"White hair, sort of detached? Yeah, what about him?"

"He was everywhere. In every city we were in, he was there."

"A big Salvatore fan?" Jeremy asked.

"No, I don't think so. I mean, he never approached us and he is not one of the volunteers. I have been at the headquarters almost every day since we got back, looking for him. He was definitely not there."

"Well, that doesn't make him a killer either, Elena."

When they finally finished watching all the tapes, they were all sure that something was going on with the man Elena spotted.

"He is lurking," Elena murmured to Alaric.

"I don't know about 'lurking' but he does seem awfully observant of Damon, but still it's like he doesn't want to be seen."

"He is not the only one who can't seem to keep his eyes off Mr. Salvatore," Jeremy commented, his eyes going straight to Elena. She returned the look, letting Jeremy know, with no words, that they will not be talking about it.

"Does he seem familiar to any of you?" she asked. "Maybe he is just a reporter playing the role of the undercover detective."

"Never seen him before in my life," Alaric said. "But I'll ask around, do a check up on him see if he is part of any network I am in contact with. If he ever worked in the filled, it will turn out sooner or later. I'll let you know as soon as I find anything."

"Thank you Ric," Elena grabbed her purse as she stood up. "I have to get home, it's late. I will see you soon, ok?"

"Take care of yourself, Elena."

"I will."

"From the informations I have, you might be going away again in a week or two. I will send Jeremy with you."

"I really appreciate it," Elena said smiling warmly at Alaric.

***Lucky 13***

"This is becoming a thing now," Damon said even before Elena got the time to take off her jacket. She turned around and saw Damon standing in the doorway. Judging by the look on his face, he was mad. The thing was that, Elena knew she did nothing wrong, but she also understood Damon's point of view. Considering the fact that he was a cheated husband, she knew that his reaction was normal and she had reason to suspect the worst. A part of her still wished he would trust her and she couldn't help but feel a little hurt every time he would point a finger at her.

"What is?" Elena asked. She knew she was playing dumb, but it was the only way she could think of to handle the situation.

"You coming home at these hours and me waiting for you, pacing the room, wondering where you are," he explained. By the time he finished the sentence, he was a few steps away from her. "Where have you been?" he asked and Elena had suddenly found all sorts of things to rearrange in her closet, trying to put as much space as possible between Damon and her.

"I told you I am going to change my phone. You were the one insisting I get one of these new things," she said pointing at the new android she got.

"And it took you five fucking hours to do that?" he snapped.

Elena slipped beside him and snuck into Anna's bedroom to kiss her good night. Plus, the child's room was always a neutral territory. She knew he would never raise his voice at her in Anna's room.

"She had another nightmare. We heard her screams from the study. We were in the middle of a meeting."

"Oh," Elena kneeled by the edge of the bed, smoothing the sleeping girl's hair. "Did she remember anything?" she asked and Damon started shaking his head.

"No, her own screams woke her up."

"Poor baby, I should've been here."

"Yes, you should've."

"I am sorry, Damon. I just…I lost track of time talking to the sales man, I didn't realize it was this late. By the time I was done, I was starving; I stopped for a salad and then came straight home."

"Why did you eat out, we have food in the house Katherine."

"I know that. I haven't been eating since breakfast and I had to take my pills."

"Do they still make you shaky?" he asked. The concern in his voice let Elena know that it was now safe for her to get out of the room so she did. She closed the door behind them with as little noise as possible and made her way back to her room. She didn't realize how close Damon had followed behind until she turned around and practically bumped into him.

"No, the new ones don't make me shaky," she asked just as a shiver went through her.

"You are shaking," he observed.

"It's not because of the pills," she whispered. It was him. His scent and his presence, so close to her that she could feel his body heat made her tremble. Just being so close to him had that sort of effect on her. Everything about him consumed her and no matter how many times it happened, she couldn't get used to his touch, her body was just automatically responding to his.

Damon took a deep breath, inhaling her perfume. He adored the way she smelled. Everything about her fascinated him even since the accident and Damon thought he might just go insane because of it. He wanted to just lock her in a room for a few months and just explore everything that changed since she came back from the most traumatic experience of both their lives. Her skin felt different, her scent, her voice…every little detail would take him days to fully explore and experience. Most of all, he just wanted to let his guard down and lose himself in her, but after everything she had put him through, he found it still too difficult to just forgive and forget. There was still a tiny part of him that couldn't trust her. Any moment he was expecting her act to come to an end and go back to the way she was before the accident. Just the thought of it was enough to make his skin burn, his hair go up on his arms and his heart ache in his chest. Damon was sure of one thing: if he allowed himself to let all his walls down again and love her again he wouldn't survive another character swap.

He took a step back, doing his best to resist the urge to just take her in his arms, grateful that she was back. Like a loyal dog, he was just glad to have her back safe and sound because only he knew how many time he expected her to go and simply never return. Yeah, he was pathetic that way and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it but pretend she didn't affect him as much as she did.

"I have a meeting to get back to; the two guys we hired are here. We are talking about a new strategy, there might be a new tour in a week or so," he said. Elena already knew about the new tour, Alaric warned her about it.

"For how long?" she asked.

"A week, two tops."

"I thought you didn't like those guys."

"I don't, but they come highly recommended and Elijah and Stefan trust them."

"Shouldn't you be the ne deciding this?"

"Elijah is my campaign manager, Kat. I trust his judgment."

"Ok, as long as this is your decision."

"Good night, Kat."

Before Damon got the change to leave the room, Elena called after him, "Damon, wait." He slowly turned around, waiting for her to say what she had to say. "I didn't do anything… I mean, I wouldn't… not anymore. I just need you to believe me."

"I believe you," his voice was nothing more than a soft whisper, but Elena heard him and those simple words made her happy. She smiled at him and he smiled back than turned on his heels and left Elena alone.

At least he believed her, that was a start.


	34. Chapter 34

**N: I am aware that it's been a very long time since I last updated this story and I am really sorry for that. The reason was a mix between a very bad writer's block and no real time on my hands because of the exams at the end of the semester. I am really sorry I made you guys wait so long and I do hope you are still interested.**

**On a positive note, I am done with my exams and summer school doesn't start for at least a few weeks, so I will have more time to get over my writer's block and give you more frequent chapters.**

**This is not beta-ed, please forgive my mistakes and do not let them ruin your liking for the story. Reviews are more than welcome and believe me they help with the blocks. I re-read your great reviews every time I get a block and it helps me keep writing.**

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><p><strong>Strategies<strong>

As the last days of the campaign were approaching, the new advisors along with Elijah decided that it was best if the whole family would be there for the next campaigning trip. Right after the news had reached everyone after dinner, a few things happened at the same time. Caroline stood up and looked around in panic asking repeatedly if she, too, was supposed to go, Rebekah raised her hand letting out a loud "halleluiah" happy that something interesting was finally happening and Giuseppe started telling everyone that they should all be on their best behaviour since they will all be under public scrutiny for the rest of the campaign.

"Pearl, please help Caroline prepare for the trip, the rest of us will manage. After you are done with Caroline you can ask Katherine if she need help packing for Annabelle," Giuseppe said in a grave voice. Antonella was already up, making her way out of the living room. Once everything was settled and everyone knew what they had to do, Giuseppe followed his wife.

***Lucky 13***

When they arrived it was raining, Elena didn't get to see Damon, because he had already left with Elijah to another sort of event or meeting, she wasn't sure. Damon's parents were trying to convince Anna to eat, but all the child wanted was to see her father.

"You promised!" Anna yelled at her grandma.

"Anna," Elena started in a soft voice, slowly approaching the child. "Please, honey you have to eat something. Don't you want me to tell Daddy what a good girl you have been?"

Anna nodded vigorously, but still made no attempt to eat the tiny slice of pizza in front of her. "I want to see Daddy first and then I'll eat," she mumbled.

"Daddy is at a very important meeting, he will get here later."

"He said I will get a surprise, I want it now!"

"Elena, we need to go if we want to meet Damon and Elijah on time. It's almost seven and Stefan has been waiting downstairs for more than twenty minutes," Giuseppe said, but Elena paid almost no attention to him. "Antonella can stay here with Annabelle, she is clearly not fit to meet the public eye like this," he went on.

"No she is not, I agree, but I couldn't ask Antonella to stay –"

"Nonsense, there is no problem, plus, the flight left me a bit tired," Antonella said with a smile.

"You know what, you go with Stefan now and I will take a cab there as soon as Anna is in bed," Elena suggested.

"I can handle it, Katherine."

"I know you can, but I couldn't leave knowing she is in this mood, and I am sure Damon wouldn't want me to either."

"If you are sure," Giuseppe tried once more.

"I am sure. I have the address, I will be there soon."

"Alright, let's go."

As soon as everyone was out and the room remained quite, Elena turned towards Anna again. She knew the child must be tired and the flight had been difficult for her, but she was about to take Elena's last drop of patience away.

"If Daddy promised you a surprise honey, he will give it to you. I will tell Daddy to wake you up when he comes home and give you the surprise, but first you have to eat."

"No, I don't want to eat!"

"Anna, please just this slice," Elena urged, but the child would have none of it. Anna stood up and pushed the plate off the table. The slice of pizza fell upside-down on the carpet and the white paper-plate landed just a few centimeters away.

"That is enough, Anna!" This time it was Elena the one with no patience left. She turned Anna around and swatted her bottom several times. Anna didn't react right away, but after the immediate shock was gone, her eyes started to water. Antonella was ready to reach for the child, but Elena was faster. She picked up the child and Anna started crying softly into Elena's shoulder.

"You behaved really badly Anna, you should be ashamed. Daddy thinks you are a good girl."

"I am," the little girl protested in a shaky voice.

"Usually, yes, but tonight you're behaving very badly and you know it."

"Can I have ice cream now?"

"No, you can't have ice cream, Anna. Bad behaviour does not deserve rewords, don't you think?" Elena asked and Anna nodded regretfully. "Now, let's go get you into the new pajamas so that you and Grandma can go to bed. If you behave now, I will still tell Daddy to wake you up when he gets home," Elena placed the child down and guided her in the bathroom. After about twenty minutes, Anna was asleep and she and Antonella were making their way out of the room.

"Damon will hear about the spanking," the older woman said.

"And so he should," Elena mumbled back before leaving the room. Once outside, her cell started ringing. It was Damon. "Hey, what's happening? Are you coming?"

"Yes. I had some trouble with Anna. I will tell you about it later, I will take a cab soon –"

"No need, I am in the lobby, hurry!"

Elena was ready in record time, not wanting to make Damon wait more than necessary. She kept the same emerald dress she had on; she changed her flats with a pair of elegant silver sandals and re-did her make-up, adding eye-liner to go from day to night. She decided to let her hair down, because the fancy coiffure she made was a mess. She decided against lipstick and chose a strawberry-flavored lip-balm instead. She was pleased to see that her efforts did not go unnoticed. Damon's eyes opened wide and flew over her like a river caressing the earth and leaving a hot trial behind.

"Hey," he said softly once she got close enough. "What kept you so long? Dad told me Anna was upset."

"Upset?" Elena tilted her head to look at Damon. "She acted like a real toddler. She refused to eat and threw the food on the floor. I know she must've been tired and stressed over the flight, but she acted out, Damon. I am going to spoil your mother's surprise and tell you myself. I spanked her." She waited for Damon's response, but when it didn't come, she went on. "Why did you come for me? I could've taken a cab."

"I wasn't doing anything and frankly I was bored." They got to the car and Damon opened the door, helping Elena in. He closed the door behind her and in a few seconds he was in the driver seat.

"Wouldn't they be upset you left?"

"They don't know. By the time they notice I am gone we will already be there."

They talked about the new strategy and the polls – that were not in Damon's favor yet – on their way. They weren't able to find parking, so they had to drive further to a dark, deserted parking-lot that was pretty far away from the place the gathering was held. Once parked, Damon stopped the engine and turned around, but neither of them moved. Damon turned towards Elena and she noticed he looked tired. "I am losing ground every day, Kat, and it's the last few weeks. Maybe I am just fooling myself."

"Damon," Elena started, but she stopped herself. She had a feeling Damon wasn't done.

"I have always wanted to be senator. I felt it in my gut once I was old enough to know what it meant, but now I am starting to believe that it was all just in my head."

"You will make a great senator Damon. You are a born leader, not many people are, and not many are ready to assume responsibility for thousands of people. Your ideals are not just campaign slogans to get people's votes, you believe in them. You have something Klaus never had and will never have…"

"What is that?"

"You have substance, passion, integrity and in time, people will realize that."

"You still think I have a chance to win?"

"Definitely."

Damon's eyes found Elena's and her heart skipped a beat. Like hypnotised, he stretched his hand and placed his palm on her chest. He watched mesmerised as her chest rose and felt in the rhythm of her breath. Elena closed her eyes for a few seconds and when she opened them, Damon was closer. He was close enough for her to smell his cologne…and he smelled so good. The next couple of minutes had been a blur. Elena wasn't sure who made the first move or how, all she knew was that Damon's lips were on hers, his hand slid from her chest to her breasts and he was now caressing them through the thin material of the dress and his other hand was in her hair, pulling slightly to get better access to her mouth.

"Damon," Elena whimpered his name between kisses. "I want you!" she said making Damon growl deep in his throat. He wanted to tell her he wanted her too, that every time she was around, he felt like a teenager being in the close proximity of his crush. He wanted to tell her that her new style had him drooling most of the time. There were many things Damon wanted to tell her, but he thought it was pointless, she must've figure it out by now. Katherine might be many things, but stupid, had never been one of them. Instead of telling her how much he wanted her, he decided to show her. After unzipping his pants and pushing them off his hips, he found her hand, guiding her towards his rock-hard erection. Elena felt chills all over her body. She curled her fingers around Damon's pulsating dick and started moving her hand up and down in slow movements, enjoying the soft moans coming out of his throat. Damon bend over even more, with his hand still on her breasts, he let his mouth travel all over her exposed neck and shoulders. He played with her ear until Elena could barely breathe anymore. Soon, she decided she had had enough and rolled up her skirt, passing her right leg over Damon. The movement brought her in Damon's lap and his hand went automatically on her ass. Pushing her up, he held her there enough for his dick to find its way to her heated entrance.

Elena closed her eyes and bit her lip as she implanted herself around his shaft. The feeling of having him inside was as overwhelming as she remembered. Her heart started beating even faster and she felt like some sorts of bubbles were forming in her lower abdomen – a feeling she recognized as deep emotions. She loved this man with all her heart and for the moment, he belonged to her, he was part of her, she just wished they could stay like that forever.

Damon let his hand slide deeper underneath her dress, caressing her back as Elena was going up and down on his erection. Her skin felt so soft and he couldn't get enough of her. Predictably enough, her moves got faster and faster, she dropped her head on Damon's shoulder and she let her orgasm rush through her, tightening her muscles around him and Damon only had time to bury his hand in her hair and pull her in for a kiss before his own release came. He held her tight as spasms of pleasure ran through him.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked handing her some paper-tissues. Elena took the tissues from him mumbling a soft "thank you".

"No, you didn't hurt me. Why?" she answered Damon's question after she got the chance to wipe away the juices at her opening.

"I just…well, you are just so tight," he said and Elena paused from brushing her hair to look at him.

"Damon, I promise you, I am fine."

After doing her best to cover up the tracks of their passionate love-making, they got out of the car, walking as fast as Elena's heals allowed them to.

"Oh, I think we might be in trouble," Elena whispered as she noticed Elijah, Stefan and the two consultants in the hall, clearly waiting for them.

"Where the hell have you been?" Stefan asked first.

"To pick up Katherine."

"She should've grabbed a cab or stay home, now you are late. Your speech was supposed to start fifteen minutes ago," Tom, one of the consultants, shouted.

"That means they will be even more excited to see me. Everything good is worth waiting for, right?" Damon said with a smile, looking at Elena. She smiled back, hoping he could read the support in her eyes.

"Damon, being late is never a good thing, not in your case!" Elijah spoke for the first time. He didn't sound mad, more like disappointed, which made Elena feel bad for a second.

"I know, but we couldn't find parking," Damon said like that was supposed to explain everything.

"We need to get you on stage," Tom said checking his notes. He turned towards Elena, looking at her from head to toe. "And, Mrs. Salvatore next time you want to fuck your husband, do it in your own time, not ours," he said.

Elena didn't have time to react because Damon punched Tom and somehow managed to turn him around, on his knees, strangling him with his own tie in a matter of seconds.

"If you ever," Damon started, pulling the tie enough to make Tom's face turn colors. "_Ever_, talk to my wife like that again, I will choke you to death with this ridiculous 2000 dollars tie," he said and let go of the clothing allowing Tom to take in a deep breath. "Let's go," Damon turned and grabbed Elena's hand, directing them towards the stage.


	35. Chapter 35

**N: Just a DE chapter, does not help the plot advance in any way, but after all the drama, I thought some Delena was much needed. Hope you'll enjoy and leave me a review. I am very grateful for each and every word you guys write to me. I am estimating another 3 or 4 chapters after this one. Once "Lucky 13" is completed I will go back to "Target: Love" – for those of you following that one.**

**The next chapter (next week) will be very much plot, "Katherine" will be confronted by someone on her feelings for Damon and NOT in a gentle way.**

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><p><strong>I cannot push you anymore<strong>

After a brief stop inside Anna's room for Damon to say hi and give his daughter the promised gift, Damon and Elena made their way towards their room.

"I am go –"

"So I shou –"

They both started talking at the same time, stopping the moment they realized it. Elena giggled softly and told Damon that he should go first and say what he wanted to say.

"Oh, I insist," Damon urged.

"I just wanted to say that I am going to take a shower if you don't mind."

"No, please go ahead, I had the same idea, but I will go after you."

Elena smiled and nodded. She picked up her bathrobe and made her way into the bathroom. Only after the door closed behind her, Elena allowed herself to finally take a deep breath. She took off her clothes, stopping for a minute to look at the small bruise forming on her knee due to the way she positioned herself above Damon in the car. Each time she moved on top of him, her knee hit the car-door. She brushed her fingers over it; she could barely feel the pain. As she took off her necklace, Elena noticed the small love-bite on her left shoulder and a shiver went through her body at the memory of that bite. After removing the last clothing article, she got inside the shower cabin and let the cold water spray her burning body.

When Elena came out of the bathroom, Damon had already stripped down to his underwear and he had a white towel around his shoulders. She just told her she was done and he took her place in the bathroom. Elena took advantage of the time Damon spent in the shower to apply some lotion on her skin, some perfume at her joints and brush her hair. She slipped on a pale blue negligée and she was just putting her necklace back on hen Damn came out of the bathroom. She turned to look at him and her breath got caught in her throat. There he was, Damon Salvatore, in all his naked glory. No clothes, no towels, nothing to cover up his perfection. Elena's curious eyes followed the thin line of black hair from his bellybutton all the way down. Even though he towel dried himself, there were still a few drops of water that escaped the tyranny of the towel and were now sliding unashamed all over his skin. Her mouth watered at the sight of a tiny drop of water gliding slowly over his impressive erection. He was only half hard, but already bigger than most men Elena had seen naked. She found him beautiful and fascinating, she could spend days just discovering him. When her eyes found his, she could read the desire in them. She recognized it, because that was exactly how she felt.

"I can't do it anymore," he said softly and Elena tilted her head to let him know she was not sure what he meant by that. "Ignore you, pretend you are not there, pretend I don't want you. I used to be able to just push you out of my mind, but not anymore. I don't know what you are doing now and you didn't do then, but I can no longer ignore you." Elena swallowed hard. Her mouth was no longer watery, but dry and hard to move. "The way you move, the way you talk, the way you smell or the way you touch me, I can't really tell what is so different about these things, but I know I have never wanted you as much as right now."

_Her_. He wanted _her_, Elena, not Katherine. He liked the way _she_ moved, the way _she_ talked and the way _she_ smelled. Elena felt like crying, but she realized that Damon might have questions if his cold-blooded wife would start crying after a few nice words. He wouldn't understand how much those words meant to her.

"I no longer understand your games or if you are indeed playing a game, but I don't care. All I can think about is you…I want to hold you, to touch you, to kiss you. Do you have any objections?" he asked.

"Just one."

"What's that?"

"Turn off the lights," she said and smiled sweetly at him. He smiled back and turned the lights off just liked she asked. He had to admit he was intrigued by this new found sense of decency of hers. Katherine had no problem parading herself naked in front of him before, but now, instead of being naked she would wear one of those nightgowns. He could see her nipples pocking through the thin material and he was driving him crazy in a way that seeing her completely naked never did.

Damon made his way towards Elena and cupped her face, gently pushing her head backwards. His lips closed over hers and Elena's hands went around his neck. The kiss was gentle at first, but soon Damon's tongue slipped inside and started stroking her own just as his left hand started caressing her bare thighs. Elena felt her legs liquefy under his expert touch. After exploring her mouth every way he wanted to, he moved on to kiss her neck and shoulders. When her hand closed over one of her breaths, she thought he will take off her clothing, but he didn't, instead he started sucking her nipples through the material leaving a wet spot on it. Like any wet piece of material, it turned could and every time the wet clothing came in contact with her erect nipples, Elena felt a pressure deep in her lower belly.

"Leave it on," he whispered as he kneeled in front of her. She held her breath the whole time it took Damon to take off her tongues. Damon placed her right foot on his shoulder and started kissing her ankle, slowly moving up to her calf. His hand didn't lose any time, it found her heated core and he pressed his thumb over her clit, applying just the right amount of pressure to make it feel good. Once Damon's mouth reached her joints, Elena almost lost her balance. She placed her hand on the wall in order to keep herself from falling. His mouth was warm and his tongue was wet, playful and curious. When his lips caught her clit and gently sucked on it, a wild growl came from Elena's throat making Damon stop and look at her. There was passion and lust in her eyes and as soon as her light brown ones found Damon's icy blues, he saw something he used to see at the beginning, when they first met, he saw love. He could be wrong of course, he had been wrong before where Katherine was concerned, but he didn't care. For the time being, he will pretend his wife was in love with him.

After he was done teasing her with his mouth, Damon picked her up and cared her to bed. She was so light, he felt like he was holding a bag of feathers. He placed her carefully on the mattress, covering her body with his.

It Damon all night to please his wife in every way he wanted to. She moaned, she screamed she pushed and chanted his name and he enjoyed every single sound coming out of her mouth, every single touch and every stroke inside her welcoming warmth.


	36. Chapter 36

**N: Hey guys, sorry for the long wait, my summer courses started sooner than anticipated and I found myself with a hell of a work schedule and three intensive courses. But now I dropped a course and took one more day off work so I made some time to write this down. I hope you will enjoy it and leave me a review to let me know.**

**Now, my idea was to go directly to the next step, but someone pointed out an idea I dropped a few chapters ago. So, next chapter will be a lot on Elena and how she's dealing with the fact that she has Katherine's face, a woman who hurt the man she loves.**

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><p><strong>Incrementing evidence<strong>

It was barely 10am and the guys were playing tennis with some of the guests. Damon's parents took Anna to the park and Elena was alone with Caroline in the hotel suit. After a few minutes of complete silence, Caroline arranged her dress and stood up from the sofa.

"You enjoy this, don't you?" she asked looking at Elena as if she was her biggest enemy.

"Excuse me?" Elena asked surprised. First Elena hadn't been sure Caroline was talking to her, after all, she never did, but now that she noticed that the blonde woman was ogling her, she realized that she had no clue what Caroline was referring to.

"Toying with them both, making Stefan look like a fool…" Caroline mumbled in a sad voice. The first thought on Elena's mind was that Caroline was drunk again, but as she took a closer look, Elena realized that for the first time in a long time, the woman was sober and from the lost look in her eyes, in much need of a drink.

"And how did I make Stefan look like a fool?" Elena asked curious.

"You took Damon's side at the meeting yesterday's morning."

"Of course I did, Damon is my husband and I happened to believe he was right to fire those two, they were not helping him."

"Yes, of course, Damon is your husband and Stefan is mine, but that did not stop you from taking him away from me now did it?"

"I did not take Stefan away from you!"

"Nor recently, but you have in the past. You know what the worst part is? You didn't even want him. After you caught his interest, you trashed him away, crashed his ego and made him close up even more. You just used him to get to Damon."

Elena could not deny the accusations because after everything she learned about Katherine, she believed Caroline might be right. Katherine didn't seem to have any problem seducing other men to get at Damon, even if those men happened to be Damon's brother or his best friend.

"I assure you, Caroline, that I have no desire in Stefan," it was the best Elena could do regarding the circumstances.

"No, you don't, I know that. You never wanted Stefan, not really. He is not the golden child, the good politician; charming, beautiful, alluring…Stefan is not the one in the spot light. Compared to Damon, Stefan is ordinary, and hell would freeze over before Katherine goes after something ordinary, right?"

"You dare accuse me of trying to steal your husband from you, but did you once fight me for him?" Elena shouted. She had had just about enough with people accusing her – well not her, Katherine – off the most despicable things. Yes, Katherine had been the devil incarnated, but it takes two to tango and more than three to call it a party. "Tell me, Caroline, in all this time, did you ever confront me, did you do your best to get your husband's attention, or did you drink yourself into stupor every day, completely ignoring Stefan?"

"You are being mean, Katherine," Caroline squeezed the small paper tissue in her right hand.

"No I am not, I am just being honest. I think it's time someone tells you the truth, and the truth is that your husband doesn't want you anymore and not because of other women, because of you. Look at you, you are a mess, no wonder he lusts after other women. Put yourself together, take care of yourself and stop drinking and maybe you might still get your husband and your daughter back."

"My daughter hates me," Caroline whispered after blowing her nose. Heavy tears were covering her cheeks, tears she had refused to let go for years. Elena felt bad for her, she wanted to go over to the shaky blonde and console her, but that was not what Caroline needed. Right now, Caroline needed a though hand, a wake-up call to pull her back to reality.

"Rebekah doesn't hate you, she just thinks you do not care for her, she thinks no one loves her and that she is not love-worthy."

"But…I love her…"

"Then show her that you do! For Christ's sake, Caroline, you mourn over the child you lost, but you are not taking care of the one you have." Elena knew she was hitting where it hurt most, but she felt like she had no choice if she wanted to really help Caroline. She heard about the baby Caroline lost two years ago from Damon by mistake and she felt bad for both Stefan and Caroline. "Be a mother to Rebekah and take some responsibility off your husband's shoulders, maybe then he will have time to notice you." Elena turned around, making her way towards the door. "Fix it before it's too late, Caroline," was all she said before getting out of the room, leaving Caroline alone with her thoughts.

***Lucky 13***

Elena knocked softly on Damon's office-door before pushing it open and got inside. Antonella was seated in one of the big chairs in front of the desk. Her hand-bag was on her lap and her ager hands were playing with the zipper. Elena knew that the elder woman must've been waiting for more than twenty minutes. As soon as she heard Elena close the door, she jumped out of the chair, turning towards the door.

"I am sorry," Elena mumbled. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"You didn't, I was just expecting…"

"Damon," Elena offered. "I'm afraid he can't make it. I guess you heard about the dispute between judges and magistrates?"

"Yes, I did. It's all over the news."

"Well, they decided it was the best opportunity for Damon to give a speech on the matter. They flew on a private jet so he will probably be back tonight, but he can't make lunch."

"I understand."

"I am free for lunch," Elena smiled shyly. It wasn't like she was dying to have lunch with her mother in law, but the idea didn't seem that terrible. Antonella was usually by Giuseppe's side and up until now, Elena did not have the opportunity to get to know the woman who loved Damon as much as she did.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Katherine."

"Why not?"

"For instance, I was looking forward to spending some time with my son and I am disappointed that the plan changed. We barely see each other besides the time at dinner and I really doubt he will make time for his mother any time soon. I am not in the mood for a substitute," Antonella replied. She looked at her daughter in law, following the changes in her expression; from slightly shy and excited to confused and upset. She had to admit that Katherine had changed since the accident, but nothing, _nothing_ will make Antonella forget the pain she had caused Damon over the years.

"So that's your problem then. You are mad because Damon spends so much time with me?"

"Now, now Katherine, it was never a secret that I was against your marriage to my son. I had no choice; it was either accept it and keep him close or oppose myself to it all the way and lose him for good. I am not stupid, both my sons are stubborn, hot-blooded men; going against their decisions is not the way to keep them by your side."

"How can it be a secret, you never hid your feelings towards me."

"Considering what I know about you Katherine, I think I do hide my feelings towards you quite well," Antonella waited for Elena's reaction. When the reaction didn't come, she went on. "You see, at first, it was just a personal dislike, call it, a woman's intuition, but after you started hurting Damon, I hired a private investigator to dig into your past. The guy was a pain to work with, but he did an extraordinary job. The file begins with your nude-dancer career, Mason Lockwood's mistress when he was still married and everything in between. Your name changed over the years, but you weren't inventive enough. Katerina, Karina, Katy, Kate, hardly hard to connect. Although, I must give you this, you have discipline. It couldn't have been easy for a woman like you to learn how to be a lady, good enough to become a senator's wife, but the best for the last. Your transformation after the accident is remarkable. You should call yourself "Phoenix" as you have risen from your own ashes."

"You know what's different about the latest change?" Antonella didn't wait for Elena to answer. "The fact that you seem to believe it yourself," she explained.

"How do you know I haven't change out of love for Damon?"

"Because that is just not who you are Katherine! You can change your clothes, your look, your manners, but deep down, we both know you are just a whore with a brain."

"So when are you planning on exposing me to Damon?" Elena asked, trying her best not to turn around and empty het stomach onto the garbage can. The idea of Damon believing that about her was making her beyond nauseous.

"Never. As long as Damon's happy, my intention will not be to expose you. I know that if my son sees that file, he will be devastated. But listen to me, Katherine, if you hurt him gain, I will make sure he doesn't miss any detail of everything I have on you. Damon might have a weakness for you, but he will not tolerate a woman of your past near his daughter. The fact that he is falling in love with you all over again is killing me…"

"He is?" Elena realized she had asked the question out loud only when Antonella's expression changed.

"Well, he is falling in love with this new you. For your own good, I hope it's the final transformation, because I promise you this Katherine, nothing will save you if I decide to ruin you."

"I love Damon," Elena said softly. "The last thing I want is to hurt him."

"Are you even capable of love, Katherine?" Antonella tilted her head to look at her daughter in law from head to toe. She noticed that the young woman's hands were shaking slightly. The gesture seemed genuine. "Because I really hope you are."

Before Elena had the chance to respond, Antonella picked up her purse and made her way towards the door. "Oh and don't bother looking for the file. There is a copy in the ranch-office, the last drawer, but the original is in a private safe only _I_ can open and if anything were to happen to me, only Damon has access to it." and then she was gone, leaving Elena alone, shaking and terrified in Damon's office.


	37. Chapter 37

**N: Yes, I am 'the worst' I know. Anyhow, here is another chapter that I hope you'll enjoy. We are approaching the end – another two chapters and an epilogue – I think. Not much to say about this chapter (beside the fact that it is not beta-ed and I apologise for any mistakes you might find) hope you'll leave me a review once you are done reading.**

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><p><strong>The woman in the mirror<strong>

By the time Elena arrived at the ranch her hair was a mess and her cheeks were burning red. She had been driving for hours with no destination in mind just to clear her head. Antonella's words were stubbornly echoing in her ears. When she finally decided to come home, she had only one purpose in mind: to find that folder and see with her own eyes if everything Damon's mother told her about Katherine was true. Deep down, Elena new that the elder woman had no reason to lie to her, after all, she was Katherine in her eyes and she would've know if Antonella lied, but Elena still felt the urge to get her hands on that file.

After making sure no one besides the cook was home, she made her way towards the office in the north wing of the house. The door was not locked so she just let herself in, closing the door behind her. The old fashion desk seemed to occupy all the space in the room and then some. It must've been the biggest desk Elena had ever seen. Without losing much time, she got down to her knees and taking a few hair-pins out of her pocket she started working on the lock. It didn't take Elena more than a few minutes to open the drawer. Inside she found two thick folders. One had Damon's name on the cover page and the other had Stefan's name. Resisting the temptation to pick inside Stefan's folder, Elena picked up the one with Damon's name on it. She took a seat on the floor, crossing her legs underneath her and started going through the folder page by page. After she was done going through most of it, she put it back in its place and ran to the nearest bathroom to empty her stomach.

Elena reached the doorknob with shaking hands. Once in the sanctuary of her own room, she locked the door and started crying. She cried for Katerina Petrova and her abusive past that turned her into a monster. She cried for Damon's mother, because after she had saved Anna and came to love her as her own daughter she couldn't imagine a more excruciating pain than the one caused by watching your own child suffer. She cried for Anna, the poor innocent soul that had to suffer her mother's tyranny. And she cried for Damon, because the woman he fell in love with many years ago never existed, because the woman he was starting to love now didn't exist either.

With shaky steps, she walked in front of the mirror and let her heavy body fall into the chair placed in front of it. Her hair was no longer smooth and straight because she drove for miles with all the windows of her car opened. The face staring back at her was the face of the woman she had come to hate now…not Katherine yet not Elena Gilbert, the woman reflecting in the mirror was an illusion, that woman did not exist. Many times Elena imagined herself finally coming clean to Damon, but no matter how much she had tried it never ended well. Damon never understood her reasons, and why would he? She was a liar an impostor, a fake. The man she loved more than anything in the world would never be able to look at her without a reminder of Katherine's lies and all the pain she had caused him, because it will always be her face that Damon will see. Damon Salvatore would never know the real face of Elena Gilbert…because Elena Gilbert no longer existed. She was losing herself behind the mask. Damon was probably going to hate her once he found out she had lied to him all this time. She was unable to have him in the beginning because of another woman's lies and once he discovered who she really was, she won't be able to have him because of her own lies.

Elena picked up a make-up remover tissue and started clearing up her face. With no make-up on, she looked a little different from Katherine. She had never, in any pictures, seen Katherine without the usual heavy make-up.

At the soft knock on the door, Elena jumped in her chair.

"Katherine! Are you okay? Why did you lock the door?" to Elena's relief it was Damon and not another surprise visitor. She took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly just to calm down her chaotic heartbeat. By the time she started removing her make-up she had stopped crying so there were no dry tears on her cheeks, although her eyes were red and puffy. When the second knock came, she was already at the door.

"Are you okay?" Damon asked again once she opened the door.

"Yeah, I was just about to change so I locked the door." Her eyes were hungrily traveling all over Damon's body. He was so beautiful; he could still take her breath away. "You're early," she commented.

"Not really. It's almost nine. When I came home, about half an hour ago, Pearl told me you went directly to your room this afternoon and didn't come out at all. I started to worry so I came looking for you."

Elena could feel the tears in her eyes, burning, threatening to escape the prison of her eyes. She loved this man so much and at the moment she wanted nothing more than to hold him in her arms. To tell him the whole truth, to tell him that she will love him enough for the both of them, tell him that she would be nothing without him. But she couldn't. Not yet. She was the only one able to protect him, the only one who knew about the killer. Over the months she got to know Damon, and she knew he wouldn't just accept everything just like that. It will take time for him to get used to the idea…and maybe he never will get used to it. Elena did not have time. There were only two weeks left until the elections and telling Damon the truth now will only complicate things. Once the elections were over and Damon was safe she will tell him.

"For God's sake, Katherine, you're shaking!" Damon almost shouted. He pushed the door open all the way and got inside, closing the door behind him. From two steps he was in front of her, his arms slid around her trembling body and then she cried again, her tears sliding into the V of his shirt.

"I am sorry," she mumbled between sobs. Every time she felt like she might stop crying, the thought of losing him would make her cry louder, to the point where she thought she might suffocate from so many emotions.

"What happened, Katherine?" he asked gently, petting her head, like a parent would do with his child. "I have never seen you like this. Did you have a nightmare?" he asked gently and Elena nodded. "Oh I am sorry. Look, we are supposed to fly tomorrow, but we can drive there, you and me."

"Don't be silly, it's a sixteen hour-drive."

"It doesn't matter, if you are not up to flying, we won't." _'Would it be possible to love this man more?'_ Elena asked herself.

"I'll be fine; I just need to get my mind off it."

"Well, I might know a way to get your mind off it," Damon whispered in her ear.


	38. Chapter 38

**N: I know you have all been waiting for an update on this story for a very long time and I feel you deserve an explanation for the long absence. Health issues had prevented me from writing, but I feel better now so I started writing again. I had to carefully re-read all the previous chapters in order to get back into the story, but I just wanted to let you guys know that next update will not take moths. With that said, I hope some of you are still interested and will read and review.**

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><p><strong>Same difference<strong>

When Elena woke up an hour later, something heavy was resting in her stomach. She turned a bit to her right just in time to see Damon eyes open slowly. Instinctively she reached with her fingers and cupped his face gently. She couldn't believe it herself how much she came to love him. Elena had always been a compassionate person, carrying for others had come naturally, but what she felt for the man in front of her was beyond care or compassion. Raw lust and all consuming passion were only a few ways to describe her feelings for him. And she loved him enough to make her heart ache for the rest of her life if he will not forgive her for playing the role of his wife.

"Where's your mind now?" Damon asked sleepily.

"Just wondering…" Elena whispered.

Damon's eyes widened. "About?" he went on, voicing the question that Elena saw clearly in his eyes.

"Well," Elena started with a smile. "I was wondering if I like you better asleep or awake," she answered and Damon's lips curled into the now-so-familiar smirk.

"That's easy, you like me just as much asleep as you like me awake," Damon offered as a cocky grin appeared on his face. Elena wanted to lie to him and tell him his ego needed no more reassuring, but what would be the point? For sure by now Damon must've known she was completely fascinated by him.

"For one, Damon Salvatore, you might be right," she said instead. "You think Anna would be alright tomorrow?" Elena asked after a few moments of silence.

"Honestly Katherine, I am more concerned about you than her. She seemed fine last time."

"I guess," she smiled weakly. "I will be okay, Damon, you don't have to worry about me."

"Promise me you will let me know if you are not feeling up to it!" Damon urged as he grabbed Elena's hand giving it a firm squeeze. "Promise me!" he insisted seeing that she was hesitating.

"I will."

Damon smiled satisfied and raised her small hand, pressing a kiss along her knuckles. When his eyes came in contact with hers, Elena found herself holding her breath. She wondered for a split second if she will ever get used to the way Damon looked at her on certain occasions. They say that the eyes are a mirror to the soul, but Elena never tested that theory up until she met Damon Salvatore. Sometimes she wished he would look into her eyes and he will know that her eyes were not those of his could, evil wife. Of course that would mean she'll be discovered and unable to save Damon so every time he would look into her eyes like that Elena had no choice but to look away. When Damon leaned in for a kiss, Elena closed her eyes. Every thought in her mind faded away like fog, every neuron focusing only on the immense pleasure Damon's lips were giving her. The knock on the door went almost unnoticed, but then they both thought of Anna and broke apart. Elena found herself yelling: "Come in!" without thinking of the possibility that it might not be Annabelle on the other side of the door.

"I am just looking for Damo_" Stefan stopped mid-sentence once he slipped inside the room, closing the door behind him and caught a glance of Damon and Elena in bed. Even thought he had his pants on, Damon was still shirtless and the blanket was covering his legs, giving the impression that he was naked underneath the covers. Elena had on a transparent negligée; the first thing she grabbed from the drawer, since she wasn't a big fan of sleeping naked. Damon's fingers were still tangled in Elena's hair and her hand was resting in Damon's abs.

"Cat got your tongue, Stef?" Damon asked, pulling the covers over his wife's body.

"I…Elijah's looking for you. Last minute details about the trip and all," Stefan said, his eyes never living Elena.

Damon practically jumped out of bed and put his shirt on. "You can wait outside Stefan, I will be out in a minute," he said in a tone that made Stefan shift his eyes from the ravished woman in bed to his brother.

"Yeah," Stefan mumbled, "Sure, I'll wait outside," with a last glance as Elena, Stefan got out of the room and closed the door behind him with a lout 'bang'.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked hesitantly.

"Fine," Damon shouted as he got out of the room before Elena got the chance to say anything else. She decided against going after Damon and made her way towards the bathroom for a shower instead.

Stefan was waiting at the end of the corridor. Without a word, Damon marched towards Stefan. He grabbed his brother by his collar, pressing him against the nearest wall.

"Look at my wife that way again little brother and it might be the last thing you ever see!" Damon shouted in Stefan's face. He couldn't explain his reaction, after all, he had noticed Stefan ogling Katherine in the past but that didn't bother him that much before. Damon wasn't stupid, his wife was a beautiful woman and he got used to guys drooling all over her everywhere they went. After Katherine gave birth and she started acting out, Damon noticed her flirting with his brother, but he was pretty sure she was just doing it to taunt him and Stefan was just desperate for attention since he wasn't getting any from Caroline. Sure, it bothered him at first, but then he just ignored it. For some reason Damon found himself acting like a jealous teenager and he had no idea why.

"Damon, hell, you're chocking me!" Stefan whispered in a strangled voice. "I was just surprised to see you two back together, that's all."

"Where's Elijah?" Damon asked trying to distract himself. He let go of Stefan who was massaging his neck and moaning.

"In the kitchen, he just arrived from the headquarters," Stefan answered making his way down the stairs.

***Lucky 13***

It turned out that the business Elijah wanted to talk to Damon about was an early meeting at the headquarters before they all had to board the plane. Damon chose to sleep in his room so he won't awake Elena too early, but she thought Damon had just used it as an excuse. Something at changed Damon's mood and Elena guessed it had something to do with Stefan. The thoughts that Damon was mad at her about something were keeping Elena from sleep.

She finally gave up twenty minutes later and made her way down-stairs towards the kitchen. Once in front of the kitchen door, Elena noticed that someone was already there.

"Stefan?" she mumbled softly.

"Yeah, it's me."

Elena let out a silent sigh and entered the room. She walked to the fridge and took out the milk.

"Want some?"

"You are not Katherine. How are you?" Stefan asked turning to face her. Elena almost dropped the milk. Her hands started shaking slightly. She put both, the milk and the big, black mug on the table and forced a smile.

"Excuse me?"

"Fine, you want to play it that way. Let's see… what happened with Uncle Theo on your wedding night?"

"Well," Elena started unsure.

"I mean you surely remember the gift, right?" Elena nodded slightly, but said nothing. "The porcelain wolf and his crazy stories, you know what I am talking about?"

"Oh yes, I remember the wolf, it's still in the living-room," she said happily. Thank God she remembered the weird wolf from the loving-room.

"Ok, enough! Who are you? What happened to the real Katherine? Is she…is she dead?"

"I am sorry. How did you know?"

"I suspected something was wrong from the start. Your left hand writing, your attention to Annabelle, your docility during the campaign trips, the way you dress, the way you talk. When I walked on you and Damon earlier I noticed something. You have a small birth mark."

"Yeah, on my shoulder, I had it since I was little."

"A while ago I had a conversation with Katherine. She told me she made sure her skin was flawless by removing any birth marks, or imperfections."

"There's no Uncle Theo, is there?" Elena asked.

"No, it's Uncle Zach and he didn't make it to the wedding. As for the weird wolf, you are the one that bought it, or, Katherine was."

"They confused me with Katherine at the hospital because I had Anna and Katherine had my necklace. At first I couldn't talk so that I can tell someone about the mistake that was made. When I was able to talk it was too late, I already had Katherine's face and…" Elena stopped. She was pretty sure Stefan was not the one planning to kill Damon, but then again, none of the members of the family seemed able of cold-blooded murder. On the other hand, Stefan figured out that she wasn't Katherine but he was not pointing a gun at her. "Stefan, what I'm about to tell you is going to sound crazy, but I need you to hear me out, ok?"

"Talk!"

"Someone wants to kill Damon."

"Someone, who?"

"I don't know, but that's not the crazy part." Stefan raised an eyebrow at her. "Look, when I was in the hospital recovering, someone came to see me. I still had bandages over my eye and the person was standing out of my vision so I don't know who it was. He told me that the plan was still on even if I had an accident and that I shouldn't make any confessions on my deathbed. He said Damon will not live to take office."

"At the hospital? But the only people allowed in your room were-"

"I know, I told you it will sound crazy. At the beginning I thought I was mistaken, I thought I dreamed about it, but I started getting notes. I believe he will do it on the day of the elections, when they reveal the answer."

"You want me to believe that someone from my family will assassinate my brother?"

"I know how bad that sounds, Stefan."

"Do you?!"

"I do"

"Who are you anyway?"

"My name is Elena Gilbert. Look, I didn't mean to take over Katherine's life, to get inside your family, but…I own your brother my life."

"You fell in love with him, didn't you?" Stefan asked getting closer to Elena.

"I did." She said simply.

"I'd say you're lying, but it's pretty obvious you love my brother. I'll give you tonight to come clean to him after that, I'll be the one to tell him."

"You can't, Stefan, you don't understand, if the person planning to kill your brother finds out I am not Katherine he might panic and…I just need more time. Just give me until after the elections," Elena could feel herself panic and she took a deep breath. Freaking out will not help her case.

"Your accusations are insane!"

"I am well aware of that. Please, look, after the elections you can call the police, do what you like, but before then, and just act like I am Katherine, please!"

"Alright."

"Thank you," she said softly. "Stefan," Elena continued hesitantly. "Did something happen between you and Katherine?" Stefan looked away as if she had slapped him. Elena's heart ached in her chest.

"I am not proud of it, but-"

"You don't have to explain yourself to me."

"It didn't go far, but enough to make me disgusted with myself."

"I am sorry for what she had put you and your brother through." Elena put back the milk, picked up the mug and made her way out of the kitchen. "Good night, Stefan," she whispered.

Once on the bottom of the stairs, Elena noticed someone was half way down. It was Damon. He descended the rest of the stairs and just when he opened his mouth to say something, Stefan came out of the kitchen.

Damon looked at his brother then back to his wife. "Care to tell me why you two are meeting in the kitchen in the middle of the night?" he finally asked.


	39. Chapter 39

**N: Hey guys, I want to thank you for all your reviews and kind words, they mean so much to me and seeing how many people have waited for an update on this story made me…inspired. Here is the next chapter, hope you'll enjoy.**

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><p>Old ways<p>

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><p>Elena was pretty sure that Damon could hear her heart beating its way out of her chest. It wasn't often that Elena Gilbert was lost for words, but at this moment she couldn't think of one single thing to say that didn't sound like a cheap excuse.<p>

"I was getting a midnight snack when Katherine came in for a glass of milk because she couldn't sleep. If you ask me it's only normal she'll be too nervous to sleep before a flight." Stefan's voice sounded casual and confident but Elena notice his fingers curl into fists.

Damon's eyes were still on Elena and she could tell he had trouble trusting his brother. She could understand why Damon will always jump to the most outrageous conclusions, but it always bothered her that he had such little trust in her. After all, she, Elena Gilbert gave him no reason to act this way. She hated the fact that he had such little faith in her and such little confidence in what they had.

"I'll escort you to your room," Damon hissed at Elena. She nodded, told Stefan good night and followed Damon up the stairs. He didn't say a word until they reached her bedroom. He opened the door and waited for her to get inside before following and closing the door behind him.

"Damon I –"

"I swore I would never let myself feel that way again. Feel you slip through my fingers and hating myself for not being enough for you," he took in a deep breath and Elena jumped at the opportunity to say something.

"Please tell me you are not feeling that way now! Damon, you have no reason to feel that way."

"I know, but Katherine, there are too many things I just can't forget. I am not the most forgiving person in the world, gaining my trust once you've lost it it's almost impossible and yet I find myself wanting…needing to trust you again."

"Then trust me," she said softly, not sure it was what he wanted to hear. If she was being honest, she had no idea what she could say to him to make him trust her, to make him believe her. She tried, but it seemed that no matter what Elena did or said, Damon just couldn't let go of all the things Katherine did to him and their daughter.

"Did –" Damon stopped and looked away, as if he was having a difficult time saying what he was about to say. "Was there anything between you and my brother? Please be honest with me, you awe me that much."

"No," Elena answered almost immediately. "There was never anything between us."

"I believe you," he said turning towards the door. "Oh and," he turned back towards Elena. "You have milk on your chin," he said then he got out of the room.

Elena made her way towards the mirror and predictable enough she noticed a white stain on her chin. She whipped it away with a smile. So Damon had actually believed her.

***Lucky 13***

Before they had to go to the airport Elena told Damon she has to do some last minute shopping so she'll be able to see Alaric and Jeremy.

"Where's Jeremy?" she asked as soon as she got inside.

"Late, as usual. Are you alright?" Alaric asked. "You look…spooked."

"I think I was followed."

"Are you sure? Could it be that you are just getting paranoid because the Election Day is tomorrow and you still have no idea who the killer in the family is?"

"No, there was a black Nissan behind me, from the moment I entered the city and I only managed to lose him a few blocks away."

Alaric poured a glass of water and handed it to Elena. She grabbed the glass automatically taking a few sips. She was a hundred percent sure she had been followed. Alaric was right about one thing: she was running out of time. She had one more day to figure out who was planning on killing the man she loved and she was no closer to discovering that than she had been months ago when she first realized he was in danger.

"What am I going to do Ric?" she asked. Once Alaric's arms closed around her, she started crying. "What if I won't be able to save him?"

"Shhh, it will be ok. Maybe he changed his mind now that he knows you're on to something."

"Damon is vulnerable, he would never in a million years suspect someone in his family would hurt him. He will never see it coming."

"It's not too late. I have a friend in the FBI, he can be discreet; no one besides you has to know the FBI is there."

"We talked about this Ric; I don't want the police involved; I want the feds involved even less. Anything I do out of the ordinary can tip the killer off and make him rush."

"I just hoped you changed your mind," Alaric whispered sadly. He had lost her once when he thought she was dead and he sure as hell wasn't ready to lose her again.

"Stefan knows."

"The brother?"

"Yes."

"How? Did you tell him?"

"No, he and Katherine had been intimate. He walked on me and Damon and he noticed my birthmark, he knew I wasn't Kathrine because she had no birthmarks."

"How did he react?"

"As expected, asking me who I was, threatening to expose me. I explained everything and he gave me two days to come clean. I don't think he believes my conspiracy theory but at least he is willing to give me some time. I am sure that if I don't say something by Friday, he will tell Damon." Elena took another sip from her glass and whipped her face with a blue handkerchief.

"I'll send Jeremy and Trevor, in case anything happens at least you have friends out there and I will be near as well."

"Thank you Ric, it means a lost having you guys watching over me. I have to go, but if there's anything new just call at the hotel, I left you the numbers on the fridge. Just tell them you are my trainer or my nutritionist or something." Elena kissed Alaric on both cheeks and gave him an extra tight hug before grabbing her purse and storming out of the house. She looked around, but the black Nissan was parked too far for her to see. She only noticed the car after she passed the first traffic light.

Only after she was sure she lost her tail, Elena finally pulled in the store's parking lot. She told everyone she's going out for a last minute shopping spree; she had to buy something to justify her absence. After buying a hand cream, two pairs of socks and one pair of stockings, Elena came out of the store. She placed her shopping bag on the passenger seat and climbed in the car without a second look around. She did not see the back Nissan coming towards her until it was too late. The last thing Elena remembered was the sound of her own screams.

***Lucky 13***

Damon got at the hospital in record time. He let the car at the entrance, not carrying that it might get taken away and he will definitely get a ticket, all he cared about was getting inside as soon as possible. He got past two sets of doors before one of the nurses stopped him.

"I am sorry sir, but you can't go through these doors," the nurse said calmly.

"They just called to tell me that –"

"I am sorry sir, but this area is for personal only."

"I just need to know she's okay, please," Damon begged.

"Are you a doctor, or a nurse?" she paused for a few moments, waiting for Damon's answer that didn't come. "I thought so. Now please take a seat in the waiting area before I call security."

"You don't understand, it's my wife in there!" Damon shouted. "I don't care who you're calling, I am going to see if my wife's alright."


	40. Chapter 40

**N: I believe by this point you guys are tired of hearing how sorry I am and about my problems or anything that might have stopped me from writing this so I'll spear you. Just enjoy the chapter before last. As usual, I am looking forward to reading your reviews. **

**Just a little reminder from last chapter: Damon found Elena and Stefan in the kitchen late at night, Elena explained and she thinks Damon believed her. She went to see Alaric and was followed by a black Nissan, the Nissan smashed into her car and the last thing we know Damon is trying to convince the hospital staff to let him know how his wife is.**

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><p><strong> Busted<br>**

"Damon, there you are. What happened?" Stefan came running a few minutes after his wife's doctor assured him that she will be okay.

Damon was standing in front of the window, looking outside, his mind still on the last few sentences exchanged between the old doctor and himself.

"_The bruises are going to last a few weeks and she only suffered one major cut. She is not in any danger, but she did lose some blood so I prepared her for a blood transfusion, we are just waiting for the blood from Victoria's Hospital."_

"_You guys don't have blood here?" _

"_Not AB negative. Your wife's blood type is very rare. We will let you know the moment she wakes up, that's a promise."_

"_Thank you doctor," Damon mumbled and automatically shook the doctor's hand._

The problem was that Katherine had a blood transfusion before, one he witnessed, when their daughter was born. He clearly remembered his wife's blood type being B positive. It had been written on the bag and on the chart at the end of her bed. Damon was no expert, but he was pretty sure that a person's blood type doesn't change.

"Isn't that your car getting picked up, Stef?" Damon asked absent minded, completely ignoring Stefan's question.

"What?" Stefan took a few steps towards his brother. He thought something terrible must have happen for his brother to be so out of it, it was as if he wasn't even there.

"The black Nissan outside, it's your car. You parked in a restricted area."

"Yeah, so? I was in a hurry. Damon is everything alright? How's Katherine?" At this point it became clear to Stefan that his brother was not alright.

How is Katherine? The question echoed in Damon's mind. Probably long dead, he thought. Or maybe she was in on it, maybe she got tired of him and ran away using the plane crash as an excuse. Everything that happened since the accident started to make sense. Her docility, her diplomacy and her shyness, they were so uncharacteristic of Katherine. He should've figured it out long ago, he should have realized that there was no way someone could change so drastically in so little time, especially not his wife. What now? Damon asked himself. He thought about going to the police, but a part of him wanted to protect her, to give her a chance to explain. Just when he was about to tell his brother about his new discovery, the doctor came rushing through the big doors holding the "restricted area" sign.

"Mr. Salvatore, your wife is awake and she's asked to see you," the doctor said and Damon nodded. She took one look back at his brother who smiled slightly.

"I'll wait here," he said and took a seat. "I will call everyone and tell them Katherine's ok, everyone's been worried sick."

Damon didn't say anything; he just followed the doctor through the doors. At the end of a long hall, they finally reached her room. He allowed the doctor to go in first and check to make sure everything was in order and after the doctor left satisfied, he got in and closed the door behind him.

"I know you are not my wife, who are you?" he asked keeping his distance from the bed as if she had something contagious.

Elena knew that sooner or later she would have to answer this particular question. A part of her hoped it will be later rather than sooner, but she knew it was coming. Somehow, all the rehearsed explanations sounded half insane. He clearly would not believe her if she told him she started to fall in love with him even before she saw his face. One glance towards Damon and she knew. There was a good chance he will never forgive her. Her heart started beating fester and immediately, the rhythmic beeping sound from the monitor on her left side picked up speed as well.

He was determined to keep his eyes on her, show no emotion, but when he heard the heart monitor sound speed up, he couldn't help but glance towards it. A part of him still hoped all this was some sort of misunderstanding and the woman lying in bed was Katherine Salvatore, his wife and the mother of his child. He hoped that by some miracle she did have a change of heart and loved him just as much as he loved her. Of course, he knew better. Somewhere deep inside his heart he'd always known, but the idea had seemed too impossible for him to even acknowledge it.

"Where's my wife?" Damon asked and Elena's fingers clenched around the shits. '_Why do you care? She's been horrible to you and to your daughter, she broke your heart, she didn't love you, not the way I love you.' _ Maybe she had been wrong and Damon was not falling in love with her, maybe it was always Katherine and it will always be Katherine. She should know better than anyone that when it came to love, reason and logic had no place in it. Elena could tell by the way Damon's chest was raising and falling that he was getting angrier with every passing second, but for some reason she could not talk. She opened her mouth a few times hoping that the words will come to her, but no sound came out. "Who are you?"

"Damon, please…" she took a deep breath and again, she found herself unable to put the words dispersed around in her mind together.

"Maybe the police will have a better chance in getting the information out of you. Who are you, damnit?" Damon was almost shouting at this point. He waited patiently for hours for the doctor to tell him it was alright for him to go in and talk to her and now he wanted his questions answered.

"Elena Gilbert."

"Who?"

"Elena Gilbert, that's who I am."

"Elena…the reporter?" She nodded.

"And where's my wife?"

"Dead. Your wife is dead Damon, I am sorry."

"Since the plane_"

"Yes," Elena answered before Damon had the chance to finish his sentence.

"So all this time," Damon passed his hand through his hair a few times. So he had been right, after the accident the woman he got was not the one he married.

"There was a mix up. I was holding Anna, I guess that's why they thought I was your wife," Elena started in a lower tone. "I woke up, I couldn't see, I couldn't move, I was in so much pain. Everyone was calling me Katherine, it sounded wrong, but I was under medication, pain and fear, I didn't realize what it must've happen until much later."

"And when you did, why didn't you say something?"

"I couldn't talk, remember?" Elena let out a soft moan as she tried to reposition herself in bed. Damon clenched his teeth to keep himself from rushing by her side to help her.

"What about after, once you were able to talk, why didn't you say anything?" he asked.

"I_" Elena stopped for a second and Damon took a step closer. "This is going to sound_"

"I don't care how the hell is going to sound, talk!"

"I had to remain Katherine for a while because…because someone wants to kill you!" she finally let out in one breath.

"What?"

"When I was in the hospital," she began, placing her hand on her throbbing thigh," someone came to my room."

"Someone who?"

"I don't know. Please, Damon just hear me out before you ask any more questions." Damon made a light hand movement and she went on. "Someone came in, but I couldn't see who. I was bandaged, I could only see with one eye and the room was in semi-dark. He addressed my as Katherine and warned me not to make any deathbed confessions. He said that the plan will go on despite of the accident and that you will never live to take office."

For a moment Damon remained silent, then a smile tugged in the corner of his lips. "That is one hell of a story, I'll give you that. You expect me to believe it?"

"It's the truth!"

"The doctor says he can release you tomorrow, I will ask for you to be released in police custody."

"Damon, please don't! Look, I don't blame you for what you must be thinking about me in this moment."

"You can't even begin to imagine what I think about you right now."

She bit her lip. It wasn't like she could blame him. "I am not lying about this, Damon. Someone plans to assassinate you before you take office_"

"I'm not even elected!" he cut her off.

"As good as, it seems" She said softly.

Damon took a few steps towards her bed. He seemed to regret the decision right away because he let out a deep breath and pulled back. "I can't believe I am standing here listening to this nonsense. Are you really trying to convince me that a stranger came to your room in the hospital," Damon stopped mid-sentence when he noticed Elena shaking her head vigorously.

"Not a stranger, Damon." She said quickly and Damon raised an eyebrow, looking at her as if now she had really lost it. "Well think, no one besides close family members were aloud in my chambers, you made sure of it and there were guards day and night to make sure it stayed like that. Not to mention the nurses, always ready to come in my room at the smallest sign of trouble."

"You really are insane," Damon said after a long pause.

"There are notes, I can show them to you. I checked, they were all typed at the ranch."

"Notes?" Damon asked puzzled.

"Yes, letting me…well, Katherine know that the plan was still on. The last one informed me it will happen on Election Day."

Damon scoffed, "You could've written those yourself, in case you got caught."

"I didn't."

"From what you say, it seems that my wife wanted me dead." It wasn't a question, nor a statement, but Elena answered it anyway.

"She did."

"Why? My wife was not interested in politics. Katherine might have been a spoiled, manipulative bitch, but she was no murderer."

"This was never political Damon, it was always personal. Katherine was prepared for you, molded to your liking. Who introduced you two?"

"Stefan," he said with a small shrug. "When she applied for the firm. Her credentials were flawless."

"Someone made sure they were. Look, if you don't believe me about Katherine, ask your mother."

"What's my mother got to do with this?"

"She had a private investigator look into Katherine's past. She has a file on Katherine, everything is there. What she did before she met you, the different names she used. Your mother threatened me with it thinking I was Katherine."

"My mother threatened you?" Damon asked and for the first time since the beginning of their conversation, he sounded surprised.

"Yeah. She said she will expose me…well, Katherine to you if I hurt you again."

For the first time in half an hour, finally something made sense. It did sound like his mother to do that in order to protect him as she would have done for Stefan, Damon could bet on it.

"Okay, let's say for the sake of argument that all this assassination plot is real. Do you expect me to believe that you put yourself in harm's way out of the goodness of your heart? Why didn't you alert me month ago?"

"Would you have believed me then more than you believe me now?" Damon didn't answer. "No, you wouldn't have. I was alone in this. I couldn't trust anyone close to you, because one of them could be the one wanting you dead, I couldn't tell you. Plus, do you think that when the person, whoever it was – is – found out he had been confessing to the plans to Elena Gilbert, television reporter would have just let it go?"

"News reporter," Damon mumbled.

Elena realised what Damon must've been thinking in a split second. "No, Damon_"

"So you did all this for a story? Imagine what it would mean for your career, the big scandal inside the Salvatore family!"

"It's not that. Look, I would lie if I say I didn't think about it. At first, this reason had played an important part in my decision to keep quiet about the switch, but that changed. I got to know you and Anna."

"So how long were you planning to play the role of my wife for? We were going to fuck with the lights off for the rest of our lives? You thought you would never find yourself in the need of a blood transfusion? I still can't believe I didn't realize your blood type was different from Katherine's the first time at the hospital. You must've had dozens of blood transfusions."

"It's…you weren't looking for it, Damon. There were many signs, I am sure, but for you I was Katherine and any other explanation was simply not possible."

"Were you going to live a lie forever?"

"No, just until I made sure you were safe."

"Forget about me, I would've survived, but what about Anna? She came to care for you, you think she just wouldn't notice your absence? And after all she's been through. You say you care about me," he paused and Elena whispered a muffled 'I love you' that went unnoticed by Damon. "You would've broken her heart. Why would you do that to her? To me?"

Elena started crying softly. She just couldn't hold the tears in anymore, they were burning her eyes. Did he think for a second her heart would've remained intact when she left? She wouldn't have had a heart, her heart belonged now to him…to him and his beautiful daughter.

"So, any suspects? My parents maybe? My brother? No, I know, Rebekah. She was still mad at me for that time she asked to borrow my Camaro and I refused to land it to her. Teenagers are known to hold grudges."

"Stop it!" Elena yelled with all the force she could gather. "Stop, this is not a joke. The threat is real_" the soft knock on the door interrupted Elena.

"Come in," Damon said and once the door opened, Elena's heart stopped.


	41. Chapter 41

**N: Hi guys, so the next chapter will be the last one and it will be set a few month into the future. I am happy to inform anyone following "Target: Love" that as I post the last chapter for this, I will return to write that one.**

**So it seems that everyone thinks Stefan is the one wanting Damon dead. Let's see if you are right.**

**So we pick up where we left off, enjoy and review!**

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><p><strong>Bang Bang!<strong>

Elena's heart almost stopped at the sight of the two police officers entering the room. She thought she will have more time, she thought Damon will give her a chance to defend herself. Maybe she should've ran away when she had the chance. She was smart enough to be able to start her life somewhere else where no one would ever find out who she was or what she'd done. Being a journalist was her passion that she inherited from her father, but it wasn't the only thing she was good at.

"Mr. Salvatore, Mrs. Salvatore, we are sorry to bother you," the youngest officer started as the other one pulled out a few pages from a yellow file. Elena let go of the breath she'd been holding since the men entered the room. If they addressed her as Mrs. Salvatore than that meant they didn't know, they were not here to arrest her after all.

"What can we help you with officers?" Damon asked. He took a quick glance at Elena as if he was letting her know that he will keep her secret for the time being.

"Unfortunately we haven't been able to catch up with Mrs. Salvatore's attacker. We were just wondering if she could answer a couple of questions that would assist us in catching the culprit."

"My wife's just been in an accident, I am sure you can understand if she refuses to answer any questions until she has recovered," Damon said politely. Even though his tone was calm and polite, Elena knew that he meant it and he will allow nothing less than for the two officers to leave her alone.

"Of course we understand. The last thing we want is to create more distress for you mam," the older officer said smiling apologetically towards Elena. "The doctor told us Mrs. Salvatore is awake and her injuries are superficial, that is the only reason we came. It will only take a minute."

"It's alright Damon, I don't mind answering a few questions," Elena said before Damon got the chance to protest. "But I am afraid I will not be of much use. The only thing I remember is that the car was black. It happened so fast, I didn't have time to register anything else. I had just gotten out of the parking lot when the car came straight towards my car." She was lying of course, but she was afraid that if she told the police everything she knew Damon's killer might rush to finish the job. There was no power on earth that could stop Elena from doing everything she could to try and save Damon's life. It wasn't all a lie, the car had been black. She also knew that the same car had been following her to Alaric's place, she knew the mark of the car was a Nissan Altima and that the driver had been a man.

"Anything you tell us could be useful. Mr. Salvatore, if you could wait outside," the older officer suggested, but instead of walking towards the door, Damon took a few more steps towards the bed.

"I am afraid that's not an option," he said. "It's either I stay or you go back to your station and wait until my wife gets released and is ready to give a statement," he continued seeing that the police officer was ready to protest.

"We have no problem with that if Mrs. Salvatore agrees_"

"I would prefer if my husband remains with me, but like I told you, I don't remember much."

***Lucly13***

After the police officers left from her hospital room so did Damon, without a word. Apparently Stefan had wanted to see her but Damon forbid anyone to disturb her, telling them she was sleeping off a pain killer.

The next day the doctor came in early to let her know she can be released if she wants to. Elena sighed the papers as soon as she could. The Election Day was 24 hours away, it was crucial for her to stay close to Damon. After she got dressed she found a public phone and called Alaric to let him know she was alright. Alaric tried once more to convince her to let his friend in the FBI help and after a brief fight in which Elena stood her ground she assured Alaric she will call from the hotel and hung up. She was preparing her bag to leave the hospital when a soft knock on the door interrupted her. Elena pushed her hand deep in her bottom compartment of her bag and only after she got a good feel of the small gun she yelled: "yes."

"It's me, are you decent?" came Damon's voice from the other side. Elena pulled the zipper and told Damon to enter.

"Thank you, for not saying anything to the police," she started as soon as the door closed behind Damon.

"I didn't do it for you, I did it for myself and my family. They have been through enough, they don't need this. Plus, I will not do anything to jeopardise this. I might actually win and this sort of scandal will start my career in a bad place. I made up my mind, I will divorce you just like I was planning to divorce Katherine. Your punishment will be to live the rest of your live as Katherine Salvatore, as a political figure's ex-wife." Elena swallowed loudly but said nothing. "I see you're already packed," Damon pointed towards the bag now resting by the edge of the bed.

"Yes, we can go, I signed everything already," Elena confirmed.

"Alright, I'll get the bag."

"I got it." She walked towards the bed and let out a moan of pain as she picked up the bag. She dropped it at her feet and grabbed her belly taking in short breaths to calm herself.

In a blink on an eye Damon was beside her. "For Christ's sake Kat, you don't have 35 stiches in your gut for nothing," he said as he bend to pick up the bag. He realized his mistake right away and placed the bag on the bed turning his attention towards Elena. "I'm sorry, I guess I am not used to your name," he mumbled.

"It's alright, I understand," Elena said breathlessly.

"Are you alright, you want me to call for a nurse or something?" he asked and she shook her head.

"No, I will be fine," she lift her shirt to reveal a long white bandage. "See, all clean," she looked up and saw Damon intensely staring at her bandages. As if hypnotised, he raised his hand and touched the edges of the white bandage, slightly touching her skin with the tip of his fingers.

Damon cleared his throat a few times before speaking. "I came alone," he said and Elena's eyes opened wide in confusion. "So that we can talk as I drive us to the hotel," he continued. "I know you haven't told those police officers everything that happen to you in that car accident, I need you to tell me all what you know," he said, he picked up the bag and took a few steps toward the door. He stopped just before he reached it and turned towards her. "Are you alright to walk to the car or you want me to get you one of those wheel chairs?" he asked.

"No, as long as you don't expect me to run there I will be alright," she said and as if she was trying to prove a point she straightened up and walk towards him.

***Lucky13***

Elena was putting on her earrings when the door burst open and Elijah stormed in with a huge grin on his face.

"It's Klaus on the on the phone, he wants to congratulate the new Senator," he announced pompously as he handed Damon the phone.

Damon smiled at everyone in the room, winked at his daughter and took the phone from his campaign manager. "Damon Salvatore speaking," he said, his voice clear, impeccable, giving away nothing of the emotions Elena could see on his face. "Yes, thank you," he pause for a few moments. "I will," again Damon took a break to listen the person on the other end talk. After a few more exchanges of 'thank yous' and 'I will do my bests' Damon said good bye and hung up, handing Elijah the phone.

"So I guess that means I won," Damon said softly.

"I always knew you can do it brother," Stefan said shaking Damon's hand.

"No, we did it, together, I couldn't have done it without you brother," Damon hugged his younger brother then he allowed both his parents to congratulate him as well as Caroline – who had been sober since Elena yelled at her – what seemed like years ago – and Rebekah who told Damon that she could've told him a long time ago he would win because he was hot and charming and all the women will vote for him. As he was giving his mother a tight hug, Damon's eyes found Elena's and she knew exactly what they were saying. His eyes were telling her that she was crazy and that obviously everyone in the room was happy for him and certainly no one wanted him dead.

"I need you all on stage in ten," Elijah said pushing his way towards Damon again. "Change your tie Damon, please!" he ordered and Damon let out a laugh.

"Campaigning until the last minute."

"You bet," he turned towards Elena. "Katherine, wear some sunglasses or a hat, you look like you haven't been sleeping in days," he said and Elena smiled and put on a pair of glasses that were covering half her face. She knew she looked bad, she'd seen herself in the mirror and no makeup could make her look better. The truth was she hasn't been sleeping in days because every time she closed her eyes all she could see was Damon lying on the floor, blood gushing out of a big chest wound.

"Actually, Katherine is not going to come with us on stage," Damon announced and when he saw Elijah ready to protest he asked him to step outside.

Elena's pale face became white. She was counting on being there beside Damon. No, he couldn't do that, Elijah would surely not allow that. On the other hand Damon could use her recent accident as an excuse.

Just a minute later the door opened and Elijah told everyone except Elena to follow him so that the sound people can attach microphones on them before going on stage even tough just Damon, Stefan and Elijah will be wearing mics.

"I am sorry you are not feeling well Katherine," he said and closed the door after everyone went out.

Elena waited few minutes then she grabbed the phone.

"Elena is that you, I can barely hear you?" Jeremy's voice came from the other side after Elena had asked to talk to Jeremy Lovejoy.

"Yes, Jer it's me, I need a way to get back stage," Elena yelled.

"What? Why? Wait, why aren't you coming out on stage with the rest of the family? Elena the man we've seen before, he's here too, close to the stage, are you sure you don't want me to call the police?"

"I don't have time to explain. Damon found out I am not Katherine, he doesn't want me there. Where's Ric?"

"He did? Well, at least you are not in jail. Ric's on his way, stuck in traffic or something. I am here with Tyler and Danny. Look just take the right exit from your room, it should take you towards the stage faster than the elevators. Tell them you are Katherine Salvatore and it's been a mistake or something, I am sure they will let you pass."

"Alright, keep an eye on everything for me!"

"Elena!"

"Yes."

"Be careful," Jeremy said. Elena knew there was ore he wanted to say. There were a few things she wanted to say to him too, but there was no time and they both knew that.

***Lucky13***

Jeremy had been right, the stairs had taken her right beside the stage. She told the guards who she was and they let her through. She was just stepping on stage when she noticed the young blond man pulling a gun out of his big bag of balloons. Damon and his parents were already on stage and she just saw Stefan catching up with her.

"Hey, I thought you are not feeling well_" he started but Elena interrupted him.

"Stefan, I need to get to Damon, please now! And call 911!" she yelled.

Stefan didn't say anything, apparently he had decided to trust the urgency.

"Guys, let's make some space for the Future Senator's wife, shall we," Stefan yelled and a few of the crew members moved out of Elena's way.

"Damon! Damon!" the last thing Elena remembered was the crowed yelling Damon's name, a sharp pain in her shoulder and a lot of blood.

***Lucky13***

"I thought the wife was supposed to stay out of it, Salvatore."

"She is not the wife," Giuseppe Salvatore answered.

"Giuseppe Salvatore, you are under arrest for conspiracy and attempted murder of your son Damon Salvatore, you have the right to_"

"He's not my son," he interrupted.

"… remain silent, anything you say can be used against you in the court of law," the officer continued.

A few steps away a tall man with white hair was approaching.

"Special agent Damon Arcciano FBI."

"I thought you were dead Damon," Giuseppe said as the officer was handcuffing his hands.

"So you thought you will kill my son! This man belongs in the custody of the FBI," he pulled out his badge and ID and the officer moved away a few steps. "I have been on to you even since you recruited Katerina Petrova. I thought you forgave Antonia, that's why I stayed away from her."

"Forgive? You were my best friend!"


	42. Chapter 42

**N: So…finally the moment came for us all to say goodbye to this story. *moment of quite grieving* It's been great guys, I appreciate all your support and kind words, they helped my through some really tough times. Hopefully you will find it in your hearts to leave one last review for me.**

**Once this is finished, I will go back to the story "Target:Love"**

**Also, I wanted to let you know that I am back on fanfiction, writing for our favourite couple (DE). I already posted a new short story called "Finding Damon" and two one-shots "Ending with Hope" & "Memories of the Heart" if you guys are interested, please do read them and drop me a few words.**

**One last thing and I will allow you to go read the very last chapter. I am working on a new story (AU/AH) similar style to this one, but I will only start posting when I get at least half way to finish it, but keep an eye out, it will be called "Don't Judge a Book by its Cover" and as usual, it is DE.**

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><p><strong>Spinning Image<strong>

When Damon came storming through the door Elena dropped the eyeliner. It fell with a soft 'clank' on the floor, but she ignored it, her attention focused on the man that had just walked in. He was wearing a simple back suit, but Elena thought that what he wore made little to no difference, for her he would always be the most beautiful, sexy man she's ever laid eyes upon.

"Winter's here," he said and took off his leather gloves placing them on the small table at the end of the hallway. He passed his hand through his raven black hair and took off his coat. She didn't move, her eyes still glued to the mirror, watching his every move. "I just talked to Stefan, Anna's enjoying Paris," she smiled even if she knew he wasn't watching. "The new secretary is amazing, she does everything, I don't even know why I need to go to work. I am telling you, the woman can run for President. Do they have an age limit? I am pretty sure she is over 50, but I refuse to not be a gentleman and ask," he went on about his day and Mr. Vanderword spilled coffee on his desk and that he will have to get a plant for the office because it looked too depressing. Elena just listened to him without a word.

"Is everything ok?" Damon asked once he realized Elena wasn't paying too much attention to what he was saying. Finally she turned around to look at him.

"Damon," she started.

"Yes?"

"Who do you see when you look at me?" she asked in a way that made Damon think that she's been holding on to the question for a while.

Elena bent and grabbed the eyeliner from the floor for pure need to hold on to something. She started twirling it in her hand, waiting for Damon to answer. After the events from Election Day, everything happened so fast. She woke up a few hours later in a hospital room with the Salvatore family all around her. They all looked at her like she was some sort of alien.

***DE***

Stefan was the first one to speak.

"Everyone, this is Elena Gilbert," he said and she smiled. She tried to lift her hand, but she realized soon enough it caused her too much pain. She let out a moan and that was when Damon stepped from behind his brother and Rebekah and made his way towards the bed.

"The bullet passed through your right shoulder. The doctor says it didn't touch the muscle so you should be healing really fast," he explained and she nodded. Tears started pouring from her face and she felt stupid for not being able to control her emotions.

"You're ok," again, the impulse to reach him and feel him and make sure he was real was stronger than her pain. Before she had the chance to move her hand, Damon grabbed it and gave it a firm squeeze.

"I am," he smiled sadly. "Thanks to you."

There were a few minutes of silence before she asked "what happened? I don't really remember much, the man, there was a tall man with white hair."

"His name is Damon Arcciano," this time it was Damon's mother who spoke and Elena directed her attention to her. She looked old and tired as if she just spent a week crying. "He was Giuseppe's best friend, they came together to America when they were sixteen. They served in the military together. Giuseppe had been taken prisoner and Damon came back. He took care of me," she wiped her tears. Stefan made an attempt to console her, but she moved away. "We waited for two years before anything happened. About a year after, Giuseppe came back. I was already pregnant with you," she looked at Damon. "Damon was getting ready to leave with his station. Giuseppe convinced him to change stations and join his. They both left a few weeks after you were born. They stayed enough to pick a name. Only one came back."

"Dad," Stefan offered.

"Yes, they told us Damon and he had been separated and that Damon's plane crushed and there was no way he could've survived," she took a few deep breaths before continuing. "Giuseppe and I got married. I wasn't allowed the luxury of mourning Damon; mourning the father of my first born. As far as everyone was concerned, you were Giuseppe's son. He paid a lot of money to make sure that all the papers had my name as your mother and his name as your father. Ah, it's all my fault," she sobbed. "I should've known that Giuseppe's ego would never get over our affair_"

"It wasn't an affair ma, it had been two years, it was during war," Damon said, but his mother didn't seem to be listening.

At that moment the door opened and Damon Arcciano entered. He asked the second man to wait outside, got in and closed the door behind him. He got the same looks Elena did from everyone accept the still sobbing woman. Antonella turned around and immediately her eyes filled with new tears.

"I need a word with Miss. Gilbert," he said and made his way towards the bed. Elena tried to push herself in a sitting position, she didn't feel like talking to an FBI agent lying on a hospital bed. She allowed Damon to help her up and she mumbled a soft thank you.

"How can I help you?" Elena asked.

"You spotted me, didn't you?"

She shrugged, "Reporter eyes, remember," she said and he nodded. "Giuseppe got on the FBI radar because Mrs. Petrova had been under surveillance, he was the one who helped her reinvent herself, you see. Not because of something she did," he said quickly seeing the look in Damon's eyes. Now that Elena had time to look at them both side by side, she couldn't believe she had missed the resemblance. "We kept an eye on Mrs. Petrova because_"

"Petrova?" Caroline asked.

"It was Katherine's name before she changed it to Peirce."

"Peirce, Katherine's old name."

"My deceased wife."

Came three answers from Antonella, Damon and Elena. "You told him," Elena asked and Antonella nodded.

"Yes, just now, outside. I told him I felt sorry for yelling at you for all the horrible things Katherine has done," she smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes, just like her son. "I am sorry."

"I know, don't worry about it."

"We were keeping an eyes on her because of a few people she had been in contact with. But it turned out she stopped seeing most of them after she became Katherine Peirce. How long have you know Damon's life was in danger?"

Elena looked at Damon before answering. "Since the beginning. Someone, now I imagine it must've been Giuseppe, came to my room in the hospital as I was recovering from the crash and warned me to keep my mouth shut and that the plan was still on and Damon will not live to take office. After that there was no contact, just some letters. I have them_"

"Yes, it will be useful if you could let us have them, at least for the duration of the trial."

"Of course," Elena said simply. She left them in Alaric's apartment because she was afraid that someone might find them if she kept them at the Salvatore mansion. "Did you catch the shooter?"

"Yes. We have Giuseppe on tape meeting with 'the cleaner' right before your accident. We are very sorry, we lost track of him for a few hours, we got there on time to see him flee the scene after he hit your car Miss. Gilbert."

For some reason Damon was starting to get frustrated with the whole "Miss' thing. She was a married woman. No, wait! Katherine would've been married, but Elena wasn't. He was a widower and Elena was single. 'Elena' the name seemed somehow better than 'Katherine'.

***DE***

Six months had passed since. Elena's wound had healed. Stefan and Caroline had renewed their vows a month ago on a beautiful beach in the Bahamas, Antonella and Damon Arcciano went on their second date last week and Rebekah returned to school. Elena and Damon went on a few dates before Damon proposed and Elena had said 'yes' without a moment of hesitation. Shortly after they moved in together. She did her best not to let herself be bothered by the fact that Damon feel in love with her thinking she was Katherine, that she was still wearing his wife's face.

Damon cleared his throat. "What I see when I look at you is," he paused for a second. "The woman who saved my daughter and I am not talking just about the accident. I see the woman who put her life at risk to protect my family. I see the woman that helped me become Senator. I see the woman who saved my life."

"That's not what I mean."

"I am not done. When I look at you, I see the woman I love."

"But I look like her!"

"You are nothing like her and you know it. Elena," he kneeled in front of her chair and grabbed her hand. "You can't possible think that when I look at you I see my late wife. She plotted to have me killed." Elena titled her head. He made a good point. "I didn't fall in love with how you look like, I feel in love with who you are, who you've always been. Elena Gilbert, I fell in love with you before I even knew your name," he kissed her right hand over her engagement ring and Elena felt shivers go down her spine. She was being stupid. A simple look into his eyes and she could see that he was telling the truth, he could see how much he loved her.

About an hour later the eyeliner was once again resting on the floor along with Elena's and Damon's clothes.

"I love you, Elena Gilbert," Damon said kissing her forehead.

"Not for long."

"What?"

"I won't be Gilbert for long."

"Well, now that I think about it, Elena Salvatore does have a better ring to it," he said and kissed her before she had the chance to say anything.


End file.
